Aleksandr Lukashenko meets with Tula Oblast Governor Vladimir Gruzdev

Belarus is prepared to intensify cooperation with Tula Oblast in all areas, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Governor of Tula Oblast Vladimir Gruzdev.

The head of state stressed: “We have a solid basis of cooperation with Tula Oblast. Last year the trade reached nearly $270 million. These are enormous figures, considering that this is a region of the Russian Federation. We are going to have the same amount of trade this year.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed confidence that the visit of the head of Tula Oblast will strengthen bilateral cooperation, and “this will translate into an increase of trade.”

According to the President, Tula Oblast is very similar to Belarus where great attention is paid to agriculture. This Russian region accounts for 2% of total agricultural production in Russia. Aleksandr Lukashenko said that both Belarus and Tula Oblast attach great attention to the modernization of agriculture. “You seek to modernize agriculture, raise it to a high level and create good living conditions for rural residents. This is what we are doing here,” said the head of state. During a visit to Belarus the delegation of Tula Oblast got acquainted with the agro-industrial complex. The Russian guests visited the farms that have already been reformed.

“We are ready to share our experience of reforming the agriculture,” underscored Aleksandr Lukashenko. He added that before launching reforms Belarus studied international experience and tailored it to its needs. Tula can count on assistance from Belarus in the issues of agriculture reforms, assured Aleksandr Lukashenko.

“We are ready to cooperate with Tula Oblast in all areas,” concluded the President.