MINSK, 29 September (BelTA) – The Minsk oblast will increase the export of meat an dairy products to the Kharkov oblast, Chairman of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee Leonid Krupets told BelTA following a visit of the Minsk oblast delegation to this Ukrainian region. He noted that Ukrainian partners expressed their interest in the purchase of Belarusian dairy, meat and sausage products. The sides discussed other areas of cooperation, including agriculture, power engineering, machine building and education. The Belarusian side will buy corn seed and oilseed meal grown by the enterprises of the Kharkov oblast. Apart from that, the Belarusian delegation visited the Elektrotyazhmash company that produces machine-building equipment and Turboatom that manufactures turbines for small hydroelectric power stations. “As we seek to develop alternative energy, we adopted a programme to construct small hydroelectric power stations, therefore cooperation in this area is deemed very promising. Moreover, there is a lot we can learn from our Ukrainian partners in the organization of trade and roadside service,” Leonid Krupets said. The Minsk oblast is vigorously developing cooperation with the Kharkov oblast. A friendship agreement was signed by the regions in 1996, since that time the regions regularly exchange their delegations. The representatives of the Kharkov state administration visited the Minsk oblast in May where the sides agreed to return the visit. In January-July 2009 the foreign trade between the regions reached $5.37 million (accounting for 35% of the trade in the same period 2008). The Minsk oblast had a deficit of $969,400. The Minsk oblast’s major exports to the Kharkov oblast were sugar and chemically pure saccharose, fluid pumps, electrical equipment for engine ignition of combustion engines, vehicle spare parts. The Minsk oblast imported soap, furniture, presscake and other solid waste of plant oil extraction. The Minsk oblast has signed sixteen cooperation agreements with fifteen oblasts of Ukraine. In January-July 2009 the trade between the Minsk oblast and Ukraine amounted to $205 million (46% of the trade in the same period of 2008). Export totaled $129.8 million (38.9%), import - $75.2 million (67.2%). The Mink oblast had a $54.6mn surplus in trade with Ukraine. The Minsk oblast supplied Ukraine with oil products, sugar, chemically pure saccharose, butter, wooden construction materials and imported corn, railway, tram and freight cars, sunflower, safflower and cotton oil. A delegation of the Minsk oblast traveled to the Kharkov oblast on 24-26 September. Senior officials of the Minsk oblast executive committee met with officials of the Kharkov oblast state administration. The Chuguyev regional state administration of Ukraine’s Khrakov oblast and the Dzerzhinsk regional executive committee of the Minsk oblast signed an agreement on trade, economic, sci-tech and cultural cooperation. The Belarusian companies, namely Svitanak, Slutsk meat-packing factory, Lyuban cheese-making facility, Kopyl creamery, Berezina cheese-making plant, Kletskaya Krynachka dairy, Slutsk and Borisov canneries, Zabudova construction company, took part in the Big Slobozhansky Fair.

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