Belarus’ Grodno Oblast, Kazakhstan’s Kostanay Province sign roadmap for cooperation

A ceremony to sign a roadmap for cooperation between Grodno Oblast of Belarus and Kostanay Province of Kazakhstan took place online on 30 September, BelTA has learned. 

The signing of the roadmap is part of stages to promote cooperation between the two regions. The document envisages cooperation in investment, trade and economic sectors, agriculture, tourism, culture, healthcare, education and other areas. 

“First of all, we plan to work with the real sector of the economy, including our machine-building organizations and processing companies in order to increase the supply of their products to Kazakhstan,” said Grodno Oblast Vice Governor Vitaly Nevera. He emphasized that representatives of Kostanay Province are planning to visit Lida in the near future to discuss possible venues of cooperation. In particular, there is interest in supplying Belarusian machinery to Kazakhstan and the possible organization of assembly production there. 

“Grodno Oblast trades with 120 countries. Kazakhstan is one of the five largest partners of the region. Grodno Oblast's foreign trade with Kazakhstan has increased 1.5 times over the past five years,” said Vitaly Nevera. 

Today Grodno Oblast supplies its products to 13 provinces of Kazakhstan. Belarus’ main exports are meat and dairy products, woodworking and mechanical engineering goods. In January-June 2021 Grodno Oblast exported $3.1 million worth of goods to Kostanay Province.