OREANDA-NEWS. June 09, 2010. Belarus plans to develop potash salt fields in Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said during a Belarusian-Kazakh business forum in Minsk.

“The largest projects are the development of Zhilyanskoe and Chelkarskoe fields. They will create a new subsector in the Kazakhstan chemical industry,” Sidorsky said.

“Why have we selected this industry? Because Belarus is a global leader in this sector,” he explained.

Other attractive projects include cooperation in the mining industry, agribusiness, mechanical engineering and IT.

Sidorsky said Kazakhstan had Belarusian assembling productions of tractors, grain harvesters, pickup balers, semi-trailers, elevators and engines. “Thirty more projects are being worked out, including productions of mining equipment, agricultural produce and mineral fertilizers.”

Sidorsky said the Customs Union provided a solid framework for new forms of economic and scientific and innovation cooperation.

In the first quarter of 2010, trade turnover between Belarus and Kazakhstan totaled USD 107 million, up 40.6% on the year. Belarusian exports rose 56.5% to USD 91.8 million.