Lukashenko on Belarus's cooperation with St. Petersburg: the results are impressive

The results of cooperation between Belarus and St. Petersburg are impressive. This was stated by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, reports BELTA correspondent.

According to the head of state, in 2022, trade turnover increased by almost half a billion dollars, reaching a record $2.2 billion. "Not every country in the world can boast of such trade turnover as ours," the President noted. This year, the growth trend continues. In January-February alone, an increase of 1.4 times was recorded, and in the export of Belarusian products – 1.7 times. "This is primarily due to our very close and interested attitude towards St. Petersburg. I know that you also have a great interest in Belarus. Rest assured: we are ready to give our last, but to implement what we have agreed upon," said Alexander Lukashenko.

At the same time, the President positively assessed the approach of the St. Petersburg leadership to solving the tasks set: if they undertake an issue, they solve it on a large scale, with high quality, and, most importantly, on time. "I want to assure you that the same attitude will be on the part of Belarus towards Petersburg," emphasized Alexander Lukashenko.

He thanked the leadership of St. Petersburg for the opportunity for Belarusian enterprises to participate in the large-scale transport reform of the city's passenger fleet. "Believe me, we will do everything to ensure that our dear people in Petersburg receive the most modern and high-quality product from Belarus," assured the head of state. According to him, in 2022, more than a thousand MAZ buses entered the city routes of the Northern Capital, and deliveries of trolleybuses from "Belkommunmash" continue. St. Petersburg has plans to purchase buses of the largest capacity. "This is correct, we are also following this path. I think we will be interesting to you in this regard," the President suggested.

"We welcome St. Petersburg's plans to use electric buses. Minsk has accumulated serious experience in operating this novelty. We are ready to share it if you have such an interest," Alexander Lukashenko continued.

Belarusian utility vehicles have proven themselves well during their operation on the streets of St. Petersburg last winter. In this regard, the President of Belarus recalled an incident when the President of Russia decided to show foreign leaders his hometown. "Nobody expected this," Alexander Lukashenko said. "I was generally amazed by the cleanliness and order in St. Petersburg, at least where I visited. I thought that Minsk was the cleanest city. I came here, and we had a substantive conversation with the mayor in Minsk. I said: we need to go to St. Petersburg to learn how to clean. Although my words were criticized by some media outlets in your country for some reason. I was surprised by this. But I said what I saw."

Continuing the conversation about possible areas of cooperation, the head of state mentioned the implementation of a program to modernize elevator equipment in St. Petersburg. Alexander Lukashenko assured that the domestic company "Mogilevliftmash" will meet the demands of St. Petersburg, even despite its high workload and the number of applications from other buyers of elevator equipment.

"The issue of food security is invariably present in our bilateral dialogue. Food supplies consistently rank first in the structure of Belarusian exports to St. Petersburg, accounting for 40 percent or more. We highly value this, Alexander Dmitrievich," the President emphasized. "I often tell the President of Russia: we have everything working out with St. Petersburg, but with Moscow – alas, not very well (and this is also our own fault). We would like to work in both capitals of Russia. But with St. Petersburg, we have very warm, good relations in this regard, and they are visible in practice."

The head of state placed a special emphasis on the quality of Belarusian food products, which is ensured, in part, by the GOST standards preserved since Soviet times. "Today, we are reaping significant benefits from this. Last year alone, we traded over $8 billion in food products. No other industry has brought us as much income as this one. And this is related to quality. Our food products have proven themselves in Russia," he said.

The discussion also covered the possibilities of increasing tourist exchanges. "Perhaps we should start by organizing the most convenient transport links. In the future, we will create joint tourist products and combine visits to the Northern Capital and Belarus," Alexander Lukashenko suggested.

"In general, there is work to be done in all areas – humanitarian, industrial, and agricultural," the head of state concluded.

Source: belta.by