Belarus and Russia must create new models of cooperation in the difficult conditions of the crisis - A. Lukashenko

April 8, Minsk / Tatyana Polozhay - BELTA /. In difficult financial and economic conditions, Belarus and Russia should not only not weaken the development of cooperation ties, but also create new models of cooperation. This will help to overcome the negative consequences of the global crisis together. This opinion was expressed today by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in Minsk with the Governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov, according to a BELTA correspondent. Alexander Lukashenko also believes that there should be no restrictions on access to each other's markets, as the achieved degree of cooperation indicates that a common Belarusian-Russian product is being produced. Enterprises of Belarus and Russia should equally benefit from state support measures, have access to state procurement and credit resources, the President believes. According to the head of state, an increase in mutual trade turnover can be achieved by expanding the range of goods supplied with high added value, primarily by increasing the share of high-tech and science-intensive products. Speaking about Belarus's cooperation with the Moscow Region, the President noted that this Russian region is one of the priority trade and economic partners and ranks third in terms of mutual trade with the regions of Russia. In 8 years since the signing of the agreement between the governments of Belarus and the Moscow Region on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation, mutual trade turnover has increased more than 6 times. In the most favorable year of 2008, it reached a record level - almost $ 3 billion. Alexander Lukashenko assured the governor that the Belarusian side will continue to work in this direction. "If you have the will for this cooperation, we can do a lot in the coming years," he said. The President noted that the parties have worked out interaction mechanisms that allow them to effectively solve problematic issues, discuss and make decisions on all areas that allow for a significant increase in bilateral economic potential. "Our cooperation has long outgrown the level of simple commodity supplies. We have fruitfully involved and are developing cooperation ties between enterprises, creating joint ventures for the production of competitive products," the head of state said. Alexander Lukashenko expressed the interest of the Belarusian side in the joint production of any goods, from machine building to food products. "I think this is beneficial for the Moscow Region as well, since our goods and equipment are one and a half, and sometimes twice as cheap as foreign counterparts," he said. The head of state also announced his readiness to consider opportunities not only for supplying Belarusian products, but also for expanding the joint production of agricultural machinery at enterprises in the Moscow Region. The President also recalled the successful bilateral work in other areas. In particular, Belarusian construction organizations in Russia are already selecting a land plot for the construction of 1 million square meters of inexpensive housing. The head of state expressed a wish that this would be in the Moscow Region. In addition, successful cooperation has been established in the field of 21st-century laser technologies. -0-