OREANDA-NEWS. February 11, 2009. Belarus is interested in presenting new technologies in the Kaliningrad oblast, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said as met with Governor of the Kaliningrad oblast Georgy Boos in Minsk, reported the Official website www.government.by.

Belarus is ready to offer the Kaliningrad oblast “new technologies, new economic opportunities”, the Prime Minister stressed. He expressed interest in Belarusian technologies to be applied in the Kaliningrad oblast in the near future. Belarus is also keen on the companies of the Kaliningrad oblast free economic zone.

It concerns high-tech manufactures, assembling plants. Sergei Sidorsky said the Belarusian aggregate plants cooperating with the Kaliningrad oblast have recently improved their relations.

The Belarusian Head of Government said that Belarus and the Kaliningrad oblast have been successfully implementing their joint projects. As a result, the trade totaled RUB 15 billion in 2008. According to Sergei Sidorsky, “it is necessary to consider all the pivotal issues related to the bilateral cooperation and not to lose what we have already done”.

Georgy Boos noted the programme of the visit to Belarus is very busy. According to him, “we find not only partners but also close friends in Belarus”. Cooperation between the Russian region and Belarus is a strategic interest of both the sides. Georgy Boos reminded that the goal was the trade to be increased “times, not just per cents, and we have reached it – the bilateral trade trebled in 2008”.

The Council for Long-Term Cooperation between Belarus and the Kaliningrad oblast decided upon expanding trade operations and balancing trade surplus.

Georgy Boos believes the global financial crisis will enable the countries to enhance competitive ability of their economies. Moreover, Belarus and Russia can stimulate import-substituting processes through bilateral integration links. According to him, there are big opportunities in implementation of export projects in logistics and related to sea and railway transport.

The Governor of the Kaliningrad oblast said Belarus seems to be possible to help solve several problems on which the governor reported to the Prime Minister of Russia. Vladimir Putin “ordered to settle them”. Georgy Boos did not provide any information on the problems.

Belarusian plants can take part in car assembling production in the Kaliningrad oblast, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky told reporters after his meeting with Kaliningrad oblast Governor Georgy Boos.

“We have agreed that this project is specific and it was included in the long-term plan of joint action. The project is complementary for the economies of Belarus and the Kaliningrad oblast,” Sergei Sidorsky said. According to the Belarusian Premier, Belarus has high sci-production and technological potential to participate in car assembling production.

At present, the capacity of the assembly facility is 150,000 cars a year. The region intends to launch one more assembling production. The Kaliningrad oblast would like to localize this production and proposed Belarus to participate in the project. Belarus may start to produce component parts according to the list handed over to the Belarusian side. A number of component parts have been already certified in Belarus including car electronic devices. “We proposed the Kaliningrad side to consider this proposal,” the Prime Minister said. According to Sergei Sidorsky, this project has good prospects taking into consideration the rate of development of the Russian market.

The head of the Belarusian Government added that the Belarusian machinery plants actively cooperate with Russian GAZ Group, other companies which produce cars in Russia. “We have enough experience to contribute to the line assembly which makes the basis of production localization,” Sergei Sidorsky underscored.

Belarus also proposed to set up a production of Mogilevliftmash’s elevators in the Kaliningrad oblast. Belarus would like to assemble elevators there both for the region and all Russia. Belarus and the Kaliningrad oblast intend to carry out a project in tram design.

Belarus and the Kaliningrad oblast are going to make a pilot transshipment of potash fertilizers. The issue was considered during the meeting between Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky and Governor of the Kaliningrad oblast Georgy Boos in Minsk.The two countries will decide upon the volume and the delivery period, Georgy Boos told reporters after the meeting. According to him, the experts have been studying the issue that has been fundamentally approved by both the sides.

The pilot transshipment “will be made to examine all the problems we faced with on this way”, the batch will be of the necessary volume, the Kaliningrad Governor said.

According to Georgy Boos, the major factor hampering the deliveries of the Belarusian potash fertilizers via the Kaliningrad port is “a barrage tariff imposed by Lithuania on freight railway transportation through its territory”. It is a discriminatory tariff, he noted. The Kaliningrad Governor has stressed that Russia fulfills its requirements towards the European Union by setting up equal transit conditions.

Georgy Boos believes the Kaliningrad oblast and Belarus will settle the issue.