Ties between Vitebsk and Leningrad regions are strengthening

Gorodok now has two twin cities – agreements to this effect were signed by the Chairman of the District Executive Committee Vasily Murenkov with the heads of administrations of the Luga and Lodeynoye Pole municipal districts of the Leningrad region, Oleg Malashchenko and Ilya Dmitrenko.

This landmark procedure concluded the working meeting of the Russian delegation with Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Pyotr Prokopovich and First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic Leonid Marinich, which took place in the capital during "Dazhynki". The agenda included issues of developing cooperation in the agro-industrial complex between Belarus and the Leningrad region, represented by Vice-Governor Sergey Yakhnyuk.

– We summed up the results of the work, analyzed the implementation of the cooperation protocol for 2013-2015, which was signed between Belarus and the Leningrad region. We came to a common opinion that joint activities need to be intensified, particularly in the field of agricultural production, – emphasized Pyotr Prokopovich.

Cooperation in scientific research, breeding, and fish farming is progressing most fruitfully. A notable fact: Belarusian fry, grown in a fish nursery at the agricultural academy, are readily taken by the northern regions of Russia, and recently Finland joined them. In the Leningrad region, we purchase pedigree livestock, and then sell the milk and meat obtained from them to Russians. At the recent "AgroRus" exhibition in St. Petersburg, the Belarusian exposition received the Grand Prix.

However, as the meeting participants noted, the trade turnover decreased this year, and this shortcoming must be rectified. The Belarusian side is also ready to assist in the construction of agro-towns in the Leningrad region.

Sergey Yakhnyuk cited the activities of the Russian concern “Detskoselsky”, which has opened and plans to develop its agricultural enterprise in Gorodok, as an example of fruitful cooperation. There are plans to build another dairy farm and a processing plant, as well as to establish a branch in the Orshansky district.

– These are substantial investments in the economy of the Vitebsk region and Belarus as a whole, – noted Sergey Yakhnyuk.

The head of the administration of the new twin city of Gorodok – Luga – Oleg Malashchenko emphasized that we have much in common in culture, economy, and even climate. The signing of the cooperation agreement officially seals the long-standing ties between Russia and Belarus and opens up new opportunities for stronger friendship.

Tatyana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti"