Meeting with Governor of Russia’s Kemerovo Oblast - Kuzbass Ilya Seredyuk

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Governor of Russia’s Kemerovo Oblast - Kuzbass Ilya Seredyuk in Minsk on 23 June.

According to the head of state, Siberia is a dear region for Belarus.

“I want to tell you the same that I once told Boris Nikolayevich: if you think that Siberia is a stranger to us, then you are mistaken. It a dear region for us. It is dear for also because several thousand Belarusians live there today. I don't think they're causing you any problems. Therefore, Siberia is a dear region for us, and Kuzbass, the gem of Siberia, is, of course, close to us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state said that he visited Kemerovo Oblast in the late 1990s. Aman Tuleyev was governor of Kuzbass. “We discussed our relations quite frankly. We were very friendly, and our views largely coincided. We discussed high prices of the equipment we supplied there. He told me frankly that it was too expensive and he knew why. There were a lot of mediators. I told him: ‘There's a simple solution to this problem’. I told him: Aman, let’s agree on the following: I bring here goods at the prices of Belarus, and you sell them to whoever you think necessary, take the markup from sales and so on. Then there will be no complaints.’ I clearly remember my meeting with that governor and my proposal,” the President said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko admitted that the mediation issue may not have been fully resolved. “The mediators have always been, but they must be responsible. You know where their money goes. They make big markups. If there is such a need, for our part, we control prices very tightly. Moreover, all large companies that trade with Kuzbass are state-owned. They are manageable and understand the goals of our relations. We can take it under control if you can do it on your part,” the head of state added.

The President noted that Belarusian equipment is widely used in Kemerovo Oblast. At the same time, trade has recently shrunk. In 2024, Belarus and Kemerovo Oblast had $225 million in trade, while in 2022 trade exceeded $614 million.

“I think everything is in place to have at least half a billion in trade. And we should stick to this target. I am aware of all the difficulties and challenges (everyone is talking about them) like the rates in Russia, this and that. There are always stumbling blocks, but with focused effort and a strong will, any challenge can be overcome. We can ramp up our trade with Kuzbass to at least half a billion dollars,” the President said.

In particular, BelAZ dump trucks are in demand in Kemerovo Oblast. Kuzbass is a kind of testing ground for Belarusian equipment: the most advanced models go there. Belarus is ready to expand supplies of passenger, agricultural and utility vehicles.

“But there is a problem that we need to address together. I am referring to multi-brand centers that were set up in Kuzbass. All our equipment is presented there: MAZ, MTZ, Belkommunmash, and agricultural trailers. We would like to use our presence in Kuzbass to step up cooperation with the regions adjacent to Kuzbass. This is actually half of Siberia. Densely populated Siberia. Let's think together how to make the most of this center. We are ready for this,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

The head of state went on saying that Belarus is ready to offer partners certain preferences, for example, selling equipment on lease. “The only thing we need is guarantees. It is fair to want to have guarantees. We want to get paid for things that we deliver on lease. In fact, we lost tens of millions of dollars in Russia when we cooperated without guarantees with unestablished companies. They fell apart, left, and the prosecutors general of Russia and Belarus (thanks to the Russian prosecutor's office) searched for these people all over Russia in order to hold them accountable. This is not how it should be. Therefore, we need guarantees,” the President said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also spoke about the supply of agricultural products. Belarus has always delivered these goods to Kemerovo Oblast although the volume of shipments varied.

“If you are interested, we are ready to collaborate in seed production, livestock breeding, in other areas, including potato growing (we have a whole institute designated for this, and we work effectively on seeds and new varieties of any crops). In general, the range of relations is huge. We are always ready to lend a shoulder to your region in some way,” the head of state concluded.