Vitebsk region and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang signed an agreement on establishing sister-city relations

Vitebsk region of Belarus and Heilongjiang province, one of China's oldest industrial bases, have signed an agreement to establish sister-city relations. This document, as well as a development program between the Belarusian region and the Chinese province, was signed on January 23 in Harbin (PRC) as part of the visit of Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich to China, reports BELTA correspondent BELTA.

As explained by Oleg Matskevich, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the decision to sign the documents was made due to the high degree of similarity between the regions. "Industry is highly developed in this Chinese province, while our region accounts for about 17% of the country's total industrial output. There are also common points of contact in the agricultural sector," he noted.

The first contacts between the regions were established in 2011, when a Chinese delegation visited the Vitebsk region. Potential partners were presented with flax processing plants, as well as the Orsha Flax Mill. "Today, flax is one of the areas in which we plan to cooperate," said Oleg Matskevich. Another possible vector is the meat and dairy industry. Recently, a trial batch of canned meat from the Orsha Meat Canning Plant, as well as dry demineralized whey from the Verkhnedvinsk Butter and Cheese Factory, was sent to Harbin (the administrative center of Heilongjiang province) for tasting. If the products are well-received, export supplies can be discussed in the future.

However, as the deputy chairman of the regional executive committee noted, cooperation between the Vitebsk region and Heilongjiang province will not be limited to the economic sphere alone. Currently, negotiations are underway, in particular, on cooperation in the humanitarian sphere and culture. It is planned that representatives of the province will visit the international arts festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" this year.

Tatyana Grigorovich