Opinions & Interviews

Rapota: Distance not hindrance to cooperation between Belarus and Russia’s Sakhalin

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, 4 September (BelTA) - Remoteness of Sakhalin is not a hindrance to the development of mutually beneficial relations with Belarus, State Secretary of the Belarus-Russia Union State Grigory Rapota said at a meeting with journalists of Belarusian and Russian federal mass media in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, BelTA has learned.

“This is my first trip to Sakhalin and one of the goals is to understand how strongly the distance of more than 8,000km can influence the development of bilateral ties,” Grigory Rapota said. “Undoubtedly, this may pose some difficulties. For example, if we are talking about the delivery of pedigree cattle from Belarus they can be delivered by plane only. Undoubtedly, this will lead to higher cost and we need to calculate everything,” he said.

At the same time, he stressed that there are some forms of cooperation that do not depend on the distance. These include the exchange of human resources, experience and technology.

Speaking about his meetings with Sakhalin Oblast Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, Grigory Rapota said that they discussed the ideas of joint Belarusian-Russian enterprises in Sakhalin. Such enterprises can be arranged in agriculture and processing, he added.

Belarusian journalists are visiting Sakhalin Oblast of Russia as part of a press tour to the region organized by the Union State Permanent Committee and the international information agency Russia Today.

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