Vitebsk region and Kazakhstan intend to increase trade turnover to $200 million.

February 25, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Vitebsk region proposes to increase mutual trade with Kazakhstan to $200 million. Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Alexander Kosinets suggested at a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Belarus Anatoly Smirnov today to develop a joint action plan to increase trade turnover, a BELTA correspondent reports. In turn, the ambassador, stating that the foreign trade turnover of the Vitebsk region with the regions of Kazakhstan as of the end of 2009 amounted to about $21 million, agreed that this was not enough. According to him, the investment projects proposed by the Vitebsk regions and enterprises at the international investment forum that opened today in Vitebsk are of great interest to business. In particular, the diplomat highlighted the innovative developments of the company "Fortex - Water Technologies" in the field of water purification, which can find wide application in Kazakh villages. The ambassador intends to facilitate meetings between Vitebsk manufacturers and businessmen of Kazakhstan to work in this and other areas. In addition, a presentation of the project for the creation of "Fortex" water treatment plants will be held at the Belarusian-Kazakh business forum in Minsk on March 25-26 of this year. According to the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Economy Committee, in 2009, exports to Kazakhstan amounted to $19.8 million, and imports - $592 thousand. The share of exports from the Vitebsk region enterprises to Kazakhstan among the CIS countries (excluding Russia) reached 21.5%. More than 50% of exports are dairy products. Enterprises of the region have also begun to supply furniture, electric lighting fixtures, and door leaves. The Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee proposed that Kazakh partners work out the possibility of attracting loans from banks of Kazakhstan and foreign resources to finance joint projects, increase supplies of skimmed milk powder, butter, and milk preserves, and increase sales of optical instruments, woodworking products, veterinary drugs, and fiber-optic cable. -0-