The Belarusian-Russian business forum "Belarus – St. Petersburg: A Look Into the Future"

St. Petersburg hosted the Belarusian-Russian business forum "Belarus – St. Petersburg: A Look Into the Future", organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry together with the Union "St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry".

The event was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Maxim Sokolov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation Vladimir Semashko, Minister of Industry of the Republic of Belarus Piotr Parkhomchik, First Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus Alexei Lyakhnovich, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Igor Nazaruk, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus Alla Lomakina, President of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vladimir Katenev, Deputy Chairman of the BelCCI Denis Meleshkin, more than 100 heads and representatives of enterprises and organizations of Belarus and St. Petersburg.

Addressing the forum participants, the Belarusian Prime Minister noted that

Business dialogue between Belarus and Russia is of particular importance in the context of sanctions. "In these conditions, we must reassess the path of our development, and, of course, we need to rely on our own strength, on our scientific and intellectual potential. This will be our best response," Roman Golovchenko said.

He noted that in this difficult situation, business needs support from the state. Measures are being taken in Belarus and Russia at the national levels to mitigate the negative impact of the restrictive measures.

"Today, at the forum, companies from Belarus and St. Petersburg have the opportunity to network, to get familiar with the range of goods, works, services, and to conclude specific contracts and contracts. I want the Belarusian participants to engage in the most open and substantive dialogue with Russian colleagues. I recommend paying special attention to the ways of redirecting exports and intensifying production and technological cooperation," the Prime Minister concluded.

The BelCCI Deputy Chairman Denis Meleshkin emphasized the effectiveness of inter-chamber cooperation of Belarus and Russia, including at the regional level, introduced some joint projects to support business and promote cooperation ties, and presented the upcoming bilateral events.

The business forum addressed the promising directions of bilateral business cooperation development, the experience in implementing various projects of Belarusian businesses with the St. Petersburg partners in the fields of industrial cooperation, mechanical engineering, instrument engineering, construction, housing and communal services, information technology and digitalization, exchange services.

A number of documents on cooperation were signed on the sidelines of the Belarusian-Russian business forum "Belarus – St. Petersburg: A Look Into the Future", including an agreement on cooperation between the Specialized Fund of Assistance to the Development of Russian-Belarusian Cooperation Belye Rosy and the Gomel Branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a memorandum of cooperation between the St. Petersburg Currency Exchange and the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange. The documents regulating the setting up and the activities of the Union of Industrialists Progres (protocol to establish the union, constituent documents) were signed by the Belarusian companies MTZ, Gomselmash and the St. Petersburg tractor manufacturer PTZ.

The plenary part of the forum was followed by B2B negotiations. Belarusian and Russian businessmen discussed possible cooperation in a wide range of areas, including industrial production and engineering, agriculture, petroleum chemistry, energy and electrical engineering, construction and infrastructure development, transport and logistics, information technology, light industry, woodworking, and other areas.

Based on BelTA materials