The Russian Federation is Belarus' main trade and economic partner: its share in the republic's trade consistently exceeds 50 percent. In addition, cooperation within the framework of the Union State is the most advanced integration form in the CIS.
Amid escalation of the sanctions imposed in early 2022, the governments and specialized agencies of Russia and Belarus are working effectively to minimize their consequences and ensure economic growth. Joint projects are being implemented in the field of production cooperation and import substitution, ensuring smooth functioning of financial and commodity markets, as well as new production and supply chains formation.
The Union State priorities include unification and harmonization of mutual trade regulation, elimination of administrative and technical barriers and creation of equal opportunities for Russian and Belarusian citizens and businesses. The development of integration processes in various formats has led to a multiple increase in the volume of mutual trade, which has more than tripled over the past 20 years.
In 2023, the bilateral trade turnover between Belarus and Russia reached a record level of about 53 billion US dollars. External challenges have only brought the two countries together and strengthened integration processes. The Belarus-Russia relations have confirmed the strategic partnership status.
Last year also recorded historic regional cooperation activity: more than 100 delegations of various levels from Russian regions visited Belarus. In turn, more than 110 visits of Belarusian delegations to Russian regions took place, including 16 visits of Roman Golovchenko, the Prime Minister.
Work at the regional level not only ensures import-substituting supplies, but also contributes to new investment projects. Examples include the creation of joint production facilities for trams and electric buses in Nizhny Novgorod region, the establishment of a plant for the production of grain drying complexes in Bashkortostan, the start of production of municipal vehicles on MAZ chassis in Kaluga and Smolensk, and the assembly of combine harvesters and grain trucks in Krasnodar region. Multi-brand centers of Belarusian machinery are being built in several Russian regions.
This work is in many ways facilitated by various kinds of events, conferences, business meetings and negotiations. Last year, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its regional unitary enterprises had dozens of such events. And the trend continues this year.
Tyumen region: specific agreements and roadmap for inter-chamber cooperation
Tyumen region is an important trade and economic partner of Belarus. Last year's trade turnover amounted to 3.3 billion US dollars. The figure is significant; nevertheless, the potential for cooperation, according to both sides, is far from being exhausted. The priority areas of cooperation include machine building, agriculture, light industry, petrochemical complex and energy.
Possible areas of partnership expansion were discussed in Minsk, during the visit of the Russian region's delegation, which took part in the meeting of the Working Group on Trade, Economic and Sci-Tech Cooperation, held meetings at the relevant ministries and agencies, and visited a number of enterprises.
On February 19, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a business forum of the Republic of Belarus and Tyumen region.
The event was attended by Deputy Governor, Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Complex of Tyumen Region, Vladimir Cheymetov, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus, Denis Moroz, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tyumen Region, Olga Ezikeeva, more than 60 representatives of Belarusian and Tyumen enterprises and organizations.
The forum was moderated by Denis Meleshkin, Deputy Chairman of the BelCCI. Welcoming the participants, he noted that this was the first major event with Tyumen region organized by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in recent years. "We value our partnership with the Union "Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tyumen Region" and thank it for the organization of a business visit to Minsk. I hope it will be eventful and productive for the Tyumen enterprises," Denis Meleshkin said.
Speaking about the potential of bilateral trade and economic relations, he emphasized that Belarus has much to offer its partners from Tyumen: "We are an export-oriented state, with developed industry, agriculture and service sector. I am sure that during the visit you will find even more productive and substantive proposals for cooperation with Belarusian companies."
Deputy Minister of Energy of Belarus Denis Moroz also expressed confidence that such meetings and negotiations would become a solid foundation for the development of mutual relations between the two countries: "A historic event is taking place today – the delegation is large, the reason is absolute mutual interest in the development of our relations. By joining forces, we need to assist businesses in establishing relations so that people could find common ground, discuss urgent problems and work out approaches for the future."
The Tyumen side representatives also noted their interest in developing ties with Belarusian businesses and achieving new specific results in the near future.
In particular, Olga Ezikeeva, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tyumen Region is convinced of the progressive development of bilateral relations: "We will definitely return home with new agreements and areas of cooperation in mind."
At the end of the plenary part, representatives of Belarusian and Tyumen business circles had an opportunity to hold productive B2B negotiations on possible cooperation in such areas as the production of technological equipment for the oil and gas, energy and other industries, the production of petrochemical and electrical products, the development and production of trailed equipment for various purposes, supply of spare parts for special equipment, production of treatment facilities, drilling equipment, metal structures, polypropylene mesh, as well as information technology, leasing.
A separate step towards deepening the Belarus-Tyumen partnership was the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Union "Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tyumen Region". Mikhael Miatlikov and Olga Ezikeeva signed the document following the meeting of the Working Group on Trade, Economic and Sci-Tech Cooperation of the Republic of Belarus and Tyumen Region of the Russian Federation.
The agreement provides for assistance to organizations and entrepreneurs in developing business ties, expanding mutually beneficial cooperation, joint organization of business missions, business contacts of entrepreneurs, holding exhibitions, fairs, seminars, conferences and other events in Belarus and Tyumen region, exchange of commercial proposals for trade and economic interaction, lists of potential partners, information about the congress & exhibition events, assistance in opening joint ventures, information centers, cooperation of the BelCCI and the Tyumen Region CCI in the field of international arbitration.
Speaking at the Working Group meeting, the Chairman of the BelCCI noted that the agreement with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tyumen Region would allow reaching a new level of interaction between the two organizations. "We use our potential to develop and strengthen interregional ties and economic relations between business entities, provide the necessary assistance to the business communities for their participation in business events held both in the Republic of Belarus and in Tyumen region," Mikhael Miatlikov said.
Omsk region: foundation for future cooperation projects
Omsk is one of the main industrial centers of the Russian Trans-Urals. The chain of industrial cities Yekaterinburg – Chelyabinsk – Tyumen – Omsk – Tomsk – Novosibirsk stretches west-east to the north of the border with Kazakhstan.
Omsk region's contacts with Belarus are enhancing. Last year recorded a new point in bilateral relations: our country took the fourth place among the region's foreign trade partners. China, Kazakhstan and Türkiye are ahead. However, the plans for the near future are to push back Ankara in the top three. The potential for this, judging by the last few years, is sufficient.
The trade turnover between Belarus and Omsk almost doubled last year, and many new commodity items were supplied. Enterprises have become more active in cooperative ties: despite the distance, benefits are visible and logistic chains work.
But in order to reach a new level, the parties need new cooperation projects, common developments in agro-industrial complex and machinery production. In order to lay the foundation for future cooperation, a large-scale delegation from the Russian region headed by Vitaly Khotsenko, the Governor, visited Belarus at the end of March. The business program turned out to be intense. The Omsk delegation visited some enterprises in Minsk, Gomel and Vitebsk regions, and assessed the potential for future cooperation.
One of the main events of the visit was the business forum "Belarus – Omsk Region", organized by the Minsk Branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly with the Omsk Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Center for Support of Foreign Economic Relations Participants. The Russian side was represented by 20 enterprises, the Belarusian side – by 115 companies.
Welcoming the forum participants, Chairman of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee Alexander Turchin and Governor, Chairman of the Omsk Region Government Vitaly Khotsenko spoke about the many opportunities available to businesses in Belarus and the Russian region to develop cooperation and implement new projects. They once again emphasized that the needs of business are heard at the state level, and that all possible assistance and support will be provided to joint cooperation
projects.
During the plenary part, two documents aimed at expanding cooperation were signed: between the Minsk Branch of the BelCCI and the Omsk CCI, as well as between Management Company of Gomelagrokomplekt Holding and Omsk Scientific and Research Institute of Instrument Engineering.
Besides, issues of interaction in the industrial sector were highlighted during the business forum. The Belarusian side speakers were Sergey Nabeshko, General Director of the Minsk Branch of the BelCCI, Vitaly Borchuk, Head of the Main Department of Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of Industry, and Alexander Bashliy, Head of the Department of Foreign Economic Relations of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange.
The forum continued with business negotiations in such areas as food, chemical industry, industrial sector, scientific activity, construction, and others.
As the organizers noted, the forum achieved its goals: enterprises were able to discuss specific projects, find those value added chains where they can cooperate, the basic sectors of critical import substitution to achieve significant goals defined at the state level. The foundation has been laid. The task of business is to ensure the project content of the agreements reached and the programs initiated.
Arkhangelsk region: investment potential, industrial cooperation and exit to the Northern Sea Route
Arkhangelsk region is a long-standing and reliable partner of Belarus. Since 2020, mutual trade has been steadily increasing. According to the National Statistical Committee, in January – December 2023, the growth rate of trade turnover between Belarus and Arkhangelsk region reached 145 percent. Both trade turnover and exports in 2023 were record-breaking. The positive dynamics continues this year.
In order to strengthen the existing ties and find new potential partners, the delegation of 30 enterprises from Arkhangelsk region was in Belarus on a business mission in late April. The delegation was led by the region's Governor, Aleksandr Tsybulsky.
The Minsk Branch of the BelCCI, together with the Arkhangelsk Region Development Agency and the Union "Arkhangelsk Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry", organized an intense business program of the visit.
The business forum "Belarus – Arkhangelsk Region" took place at the "President Hotel" in Minsk, which was attended by the more than 120 Belarusian business representatives.
General Director of the Minsk Branch of the BelCCI Sergey Nabeshko, Chairman of "Bellesbumprom" Concern Aliaksandr Pshonny and Arkhangelsk region Governor Aleksandr Tsybulsky opened the plenary part of the forum. In their speeches they noted the implementation of the plan points of joint measures for the cooperation development, which have served as an impetus for an active increase in trade turnover and business contacts.
The program of the forum included an introduction to the investment and tourist potential of Belarus and Arkhangelsk region. Also presented were the logistical opportunities of the Arkhangelsk Commercial Seaport, which is of interest to Belarusian business as an exit to the far regions of Russia via the Northern Sea Route.
The plenary part was followed by bilateral business negotiations. The parties discussed the prospects of partnership in such areas as pulp and paper industry, wood processing, food industry, tobacco production, agriculture, logistics, energy saving, production of construction materials, production of motor vehicles, harvesting and processing of wild berries and mushrooms, automotive industry, machine tool construction and metal processing.
Besides, during the visit to Belarus, the Arkhangelsk region delegation participants visited a number of industry flagships, scientific institutions, ministries and organizations, where meetings were held with senior executives and experts, and Russian guests had an opportunity to get acquainted with the production processes and assess the quality of products.
As Sergey Nabeshko noted in a conversation with journalists, the visit of the Arkhangelsk region delegation to Belarus, as well as the business events of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry opened up new horizons, opportunities for cooperation and allowed not only to ensure the negotiations of the delegations, but also to lay the foundation for further work on production localization, implementation of promising projects, industrial cooperation.
Business-to-government dialogue platform – for the benefit of cooperation
Industrial cooperation is one of the main topics in all activities within the framework of partnership with the Russian Federation at regional and national levels.
Providing support for joint projects – particularly for small and medium-sized businesses – is an important task for the state institutions of the two countries. That is why this topic was not left out of the discussions within the framework of the Joint Belarusian-Russian Business Council – a special coordination and advisory body aimed at improving the efficiency of business relations between entrepreneurs, business unions and government agencies of Belarus and Russia. The Council tasks include the expansion of direct contacts between business entities, overcoming barriers and restrictions in mutual trade, ensuring full-fledged dialogue with legislative and executive authorities on cooperation development.
A regular meeting of the Council was held on April 12. It was devoted to financing joint projects of medium and small businesses in the Union State.
Aleksandr Yastrib, Chairman of the Russian part of the Business Council, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Belarus in Moscow, moderated the meeting. Participating in the event were the BelCCI Chairman, Mikhael Miatlikov, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Padalko, Chairman of the Belarusian part of the Business Council, First Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee, Nadezhda Lazarevich, representatives of government agencies, industry funds, organizations of the infrastructure to support small and medium-sized enterprises, banking and leasing companies of Belarus and Russia, more than 60 representatives of Belarusian enterprises, heads and employees of Russian companies and organizations.
Opening the meeting, the Council Co-Chairman Aleksandr Yastrib noted the importance and relevance of the meeting's topic, as cooperation, especially of small and medium-sized businesses, has great potential for the overall development of bilateral economic ties, and it is important for businesses to have their interest in such projects supported at the state level.
Vladimir Padalko, Vice President of the CCI of Russia, also emphasized the importance of further rapprochement between the two countries, including at the small business and regional levels. According to him, the current meeting could be seen as a rehearsal for the upcoming larger event involving the business circles of Belarus and Russia – the Forum of Regions, as well as the meeting of the Business Council within the framework of the Forum, as it help reveal the points of contact between representatives of SMEs and consolidate the issues to form the architecture of the upcoming event.
The BelCCI Chairman Mikhael Miatlikov, welcoming the participants of the meeting, noted that support for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as the implementation of joint import-substituting investment and cooperation projects in various sectors are among the priority tasks set before the state authorities of Belarus and Russia. "It is obvious that in order to fully unlock the integration potential of the Union State, it is necessary to consolidate business support mechanisms and develop common tools for more active involvement of SMEs in joint projects," Mikhael Miatlikov said.
According to him, there is still a lot to be done to bring national legislation into line and further harmonize approaches to providing mutual access to state support programs in the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. It will be extremely important to ensure effective interaction between businesses and the authorities.
After the welcoming speeches, the program of the meeting continued with expert presentations on the prospects for the implementation of joint projects of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. The participants were presented with the general state and prospects of industrial cooperation, mechanisms for supporting and reviewing applications in programs and projects of the Union State, programs for financing cooperative projects, including within the framework of the mechanisms of the cluster investment platform and a special investment contract, programs of the Industrial Development Fund of Russia and the Belarusian Fund for Financial Support of Entrepreneurs, advantages of leasing operations, banking instruments for project support, opportunities for the development of industrial cooperation through the MSP.RF digital platform. A number of other issues of interest to the business community of Belarus and Russia were discussed.
Thus, the meeting with the participation of the SME support infrastructure organizations and development institutions was as practical as possible and allowed to discuss the issues of joint projects financing.
The next meeting of the Council participants – businesspeople from Russia and Belarus – will be held in summer at the 11th
Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia in Vitebsk region. It is expected that the prospects of implementing a common industrial policy in the Union State, possible barriers and ways to overcome them will be studied in even more detail. The organizers express confidence that such a constructive business dialogue will make it possible to further deepen bilateral ties in order to achieve new records of trade turnover by the end of 2024.
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