Meeting with Governor of Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast Andrei Travnikov

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Governor of Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast Andrei Travnikov on 10 October.

“Siberia is not like any other region for us, as many Belarusians relocated there during the Catherinian era and Stolypin’s reforms. Our compatriots found home in this land, they glorified it, they put their heart and soul into making it more prosperous and beautiful. That’s why we are closely following the developments in your region,” the President said at the beginning of the meeting. He also noted that Belarus followed the recent regional elections in Russia with great interest, and congratulated Andrei Travnikov on his convincing victory.

The head of state expressed confidence that the visit of the Novosibirsk Oblast governor to Belarus will open up a new chapter in relations between the Belarusian and Russian regions. “When you get to know our country better, you will see that cooperation opportunities are enormous,” said the Belarusian leader.

The President drew attention to the existing preconditions for further growth: “Last year our trade approached half a billion dollars. The figure looks impressive, and we need to figure out why we have lost momentum this year. Our specialists explain to me that the contraction has been primarily caused by reduction in your supplies of rapeseed, electric motors, coal, and other items. I propose to find a way to balance our trade. There are plenty of directions and opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Cooperation with Novosibirsk is currently based on supplies of agricultural and mining equipment, the President said.

“We know, however, that the area of activity is much wider here. We have an opportunity to help you solve issues with the renewal of the passenger transport and other equipment,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. He cited the modernization of trams at the facilities set up by Belkommunmash in Novosibirsk Oblast as a good example of such industrial cooperation.

Since Novosibirsk is, in fact, the administrative center of Siberia, the project, according to the Belarusian leader, can and should be scaled up to meet the needs of other regions for mutual benefit.

In this regard, the President instructed the government to make sure that Belarus was represented by a high-level official in the joint body that is engaged in the development of trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Novosibirsk Oblast.

According to the head of state, Belarus has now set a course to structure its opportunities in Russia. “Today the demand for Belarus is big, but we are not very big as a country. Therefore, we need to decide on the centers, through which we will be working with the Russian Federation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. One of such centers will be located, for example, in Novosibirsk, given the geographical location and importance of this region. “Novosibirsk is half of Russia, at least beyond the Urals. Therefore, our interests should be concentrated here, and not only in the direction of Novosibirsk, but the entire Siberian region. We will make the corresponding decision in the government in the near future and will start developing a center of competences and a center of trade in Novosibirsk to work in the vast space of the Russian Federation (I know you will support this),” the President added.

Belarus’ main exports to the Russian region comprise food products and agricultural raw materials. “I am sure that by cooperating in the agro-industrial sector - from rural construction to biotechnology - we will be able to do much more than we are doing now,” the President said. “The same is true about science and education. After all, it is no coincidence that Novosibirsk, which is home to a branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and nearly a hundred institutes, research centers and universities, is unofficially called the scientific and student capital of Siberia.”

The scientists of Belarus and the Russian region have always maintained close ties. There is interaction, plans and projects, but, according to the President, the parties need to accelerate and fill them with specific contents. “For example, we can join our efforts in promising, very important new areas, which are artificial intelligence and unmanned aircraft systems, taking into account the tasks of import substitution and technological sovereignty with a view to advanced development,” the head of state said.

In terms of humanitarian and cultural cooperation, Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed gratitude to the head of the Russian region for the performance of the Siberian Russian Folk Choir in Minsk. “Belarusians love this choir and talented performances and are always happy to welcome guests,” the President said. He instructed to take a serious approach to the organization of the Days of Belarus in Novosibirsk Oblast in autumn 2024. The Days of Culture of Novosibirsk Oblast in Belarus are due to take place in spring 2024.

“We have every opportunity to considerably increase trade and strengthen ties in science and education, humanitarian and other areas,” the Belarusian leader emphasized. “I guarantee you that all our agreements will be unconditionally fulfilled, in full and in time.”

Economy should be at the heart of the unity of Belarus and Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “The unity of the two states should rely, first of all, on economy. This is how we see it from Belarus. If we maintain momentum in economy, if our relations with Russia in general are as good as with many of its regions, including yours, believe me, in this case no promotional activities will be needed,” the head of state emphasized.

The two countries have everything in place to build on positive momentum, the Belarusian leader remarked. During many years of cooperation, they have already realized and analyzed their mistakes and faults, and are now moving forward together in the right direction.

“In the first days of the sanctions, I reiterated in Russia and at large forums that we would get out of this situation and it would not take much time to do it,” the President noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko proved to be right after 1.5-2 years. Thus, it is necessary to go on with the efforts to intensify cooperation, rectify the mistakes made at the initial stage. “Thank God that we have remained united. But I must say that they will not leave us in peace,” the President emphasized, characterizing the relationship between Belarus and Russia.

The President said that in their latest reports the special services and intelligence warn about the West's plans to drive a wedge between Belarus and Russia.

"Quotes from officials from there: 'There will be no peace.' They are thinking of how to create a rift between Belarus and Russia (though they are still bogged down in Ukraine). Everyone in the West, even those countries that, it would seem, do not care about what is happening in Belarus and Russia, are concerned about our relations. They are using stick and carrot to get government officials turn their back on the President. In a word they are using same old methods. All these statements are from September-October. Therefore, things will not be calm. Yet, we need to press toward our goals," the head of state stressed.

Belarus and Russia are relying on friendly countries in this difficult situation. Though they, too, have their own interests, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. "Therefore, let's make our fatherland better, defend it," the Belarusian leader urged. “We have only this way, there is no other. We can achieve a lot. In five years, we will forget what is happening now."

"We will get back everything. Even what we've lost for now. Rest assured about this," the President said.

Commenting on the withdrawal of foreign companies from Belarus and Russia in the wake of sanctions, Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “So, goodbye.”

“Throughout my entire presidency, I have persistently been telling Russia that we need to develop our own capacities,” he continued. “There is no need to spend dollars earned from selling oil and gas on foodstuffs or nuts and bolts. We knew how to do it on our own.” The head of state emphasized that Russia and Belarus should avoid overlapping of production when deepening cooperation.

“I’m glad that Russia has finally seen what Belarus’ economy is capable of. In fact, there is hardly any large or medium-sized enterprise in our country that has shut down. Most of them are state-owned (maybe the Russians don’t like this), they are doing well, they are manageable at least. And today we are developing large-scale cooperation [with the Russian side]. We just cannot allow overlapping of production (we have no extra money). Our products will always find a buyer on the Russian market. Likewise, we will always buy your products if we need them. Thus, overlapping should not be allowed,” the President emphasized.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus is now very actively developing relations with faraway countries, including the African continent. In this regard, he suggested the head of the Russian region to advance to the markets of these countries together.

“The demand for us is huge there. We discussed the matter in detail at the recent meeting with the President of Russia. As our experts say, the Soviet Union once created a huge foundation for the current cooperation of the post-Soviet countries – Belarus and Russia in the first place - on the African continent. They trust us more than anyone else. We should take advantage of this. Promoting our interests, we should support the development of African and Asian countries that have been waiting for us there for a long time. We need to work together there,” the President stressed.

Aleksandr Lukashenko added that Russia was doing quite well in those countries. According to the head of state, Belarus could develop products jointly with Russian regions and supply them to the faraway countries or help Russian regions in supplies there. “These markets are promising. It is a time of opportunities for us,” the Belarusian leader is convinced.