Grigory Rapota met with the head of Karelia, Artur Parfenchikov took part in work of a round table at the Karelian research centre, RAS. The discussion was dedicated to environmental security of the Union state and the joint development of scientists of the two countries. The Secretary of state also called for the enterprise of the Belarusian holding “Amkodor-Onego”.
the Republic of Karelia and Belarus have a longstanding relationship, established by the Treaty of 1995. The current Agreement between the governments of Karelia and Belarus on trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation was signed on 28 June 1999, with automatic prolongation. During the visit, Artur Parfenchikov in Minsk in December 2018 was signed the Plan of measures on development of cooperation between Karelia and Belarus for 2019-2021 years.
At the meeting with head of Karelia Grigory Rapota has designated those areas of cooperation where the most can be used the potential of the Union state. Primarily a “horizontal” interaction between business partners in Karelia and Belarus.
– Now we are working on a project high speed railway between St. Petersburg and Hamburg via Minsk, Warsaw, Berlin. Its implementation opens up additional opportunities for your region, – said Grigory Rapota. Another promising sector is tourism. In Karelia there are objects of tourist interest. As the country plans to develop this industry? We, the standing Committee of the Union state may be useful in this job?
Secretary of state drew attention to the fact that Russia and Belarus signed a bilateral agreement on mutual recognition of visas, which could contribute to the development of tourism in the Republic.
According to Grigory Rapota, successfully developing cooperation Russian Academy of Sciences and national Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
– we have implemented twelve programs funded by the Federal government, all of them aimed at creating an innovative product, and here the Academy of Sciences or through their institutions or directly in this actively participate. This area of medicine, genetics, space research, creation of new instruments, the civil sphere, the so-called smart city. We are ready to cooperate if there is some kind of interest. Now we have involved several St. Petersburg institutions, you also branch of the Academy of Sciences rather active.
Arthur Parfenchikov has told, that Karelia and Belarus have strong economic and humanitarian ties, Belarusians are the third largest ethnic group in the region. In 2019, the trade turnover between Karelia and Belarus amounted to 12.4 million dollars. Despite the pandemic, the first five months of this year turnover increased by 45%.
Karelia supplies to Belarus mineral and chemical�� products, consumer goods, wood and wooden products, industrial and electrical equipment, ferrous metals, food products, fish and crustaceans.
Belarus, in turn, sends to the Republic of vehicles, ferrous metals, foodstuffs, consumer goods, mineral and chemical products.
– we Have plans to increase trade with Belarus to $ 100 million per year. That figure sounded at my meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in December 2018. We are still in the beginning of the path in achieving this goal, – said Arthur Parfenchikov.
a good example of close cooperation, according to the head of Karelia Republic, was the creation on the basis of the Onega tractor factory of the enterprise “Amkodor-Onego”, which implements on the territory of the Republic investment project on creation and development of high-tech import-substituting production of forestry equipment.
– Prospects for cooperation are great, but they need to develop, – said Arthur Parfenchikov. We are interested in the early organization of aircraft service with Belarus. It seems to us that the economy of such flights will be quite interesting. Wanting to go to Belarus, especially in the summer, we have a lot. The residents of Belarus will have the opportunity to come to Karelia, which has many unique tourist sites.
these days in Karelia continues the press tour of Russian, Belarusian and the Union of journalists “Scientific cooperation and the strengthening of cultural ties of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Karelia” was organized by the Permanent Committee of the Union state and the MIA “Russia today”.
Journalists have already visited the Museum-reserve Kizhi, Valaam Spaso-Preobrazhenskiy man’s monastery, participated in the work of the round table at the Karelian research centre, RAS, visited the Belarusian company of the holding “Amkodor-Onego”. On Friday the press-tour participants will meet with representatives of the National cultural autonomy of Belarusians in the Republic of Karelia.
