Report of Head of Belarus President Administration Dmitry Krutoi and Ambassador to Russia Aleksandr Rogozhnik

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko received a report from Head of the Belarus President Administration Dmitry Krutoi and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Aleksandr Rogozhnik on 2 July.

A reminder, during the government reshuffle on 27 June, Aleksandr Lukashenko appointed Dmitry Krutoi Head of the Belarus President Administration. His previous role as Belarus’ Ambassador to Russia was taken over by former Industry Minister Aleksandr Rogozhnik.

The head of state explained his personnel decision by the fact that Belarus’ cooperation with Russia is dominated by the manufacturing industry. Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that Dmitry Krutoi remains responsible for the implementation of agreements with the Russian Federation.

“Aleksandr Nikolayevich, I think we will meet with you more than once in order to discuss specific aspects of your work as ambassador to the Russian Federation. It will be easier for you in the sense that you will take over from  Dmitry [Krutoi] who has done his job pretty well as the ambassador and who has come to grips with the things that need to be given special attention to. I really hope that we will make progress in our cooperation, mostly in the industrial sector. I want to see meaningful results here,” the President said as he set the task.

At the same time, the head of state noted that the situation on the Russian market is not easy in view of tough competition. “We have to face it. This has always been so and there is no escaping it in the future. Yet, we cannot lose our positions in the Russian market. This is a number one task for you,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.

To do this, it is necessary to set up and expand Belarus’ multi-brand and service centers and trading houses in Russia. He paid special attention to the use of Russian loans to implement joint projects in industry.

According to the President, equally important is interaction with Russian regions. “We must continue active communication with regional authorities,” the head of state instructed.

He also recalled such promising areas of cooperation as aircraft manufacturing, nuclear energy, and space exploration.

“There are a lot of specific programs. As the ambassador [to Russia] your status is equal to that of deputy prime minister. The ambassador’s status was upgraded to the level of deputy prime minister so that you can meet with almost any government official, any civil servant,” added Aleksandr Lukashenko.