Business news

BREST, 16 June (BelTA) - Brest Oblast of Belarus and Penza Oblast of Russia plan to sign an agreement on cooperation at the Fourth Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia, Sergey Khizov, the head of the department for foreign economic relations of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee, told BelTA.

The delegation of Brest Oblast will be led by Governor Anatoly Lis. It is expected that during the forum the Brest Oblast governor and the governor of Penza Oblast will sign the bilateral agreement on cooperation between the two regions. Work is also underway to sign the agreements on cooperation with Smolensk Oblast and Irkutsk Oblast. The capital of Russia will host meetings with the permanent partners of Brest Oblast. There are plans to sign an action plan for 2017-2019 with the Bryansk Oblast authorities. The document envisages the implementation of trade, economic, social and cultural projects.

The Forum of Regions will also play host to a trading show of Belarusian goods. Taking part in the fair will be seven leading enterprises of Brest Oblast. The food products section will feature the products of the leading processing companies: Savushkin Product, Bereza meat packing plant, Beresteisky Pekar, Malorita canning plant, and Santa Bremor. Baranovichi Cotton Production Association and Pinsk Industrial and Trade Association Polesie will showcase their products as well.

The event will host meetings for potential partners of the two countries. They will be able to discuss cooperation opportunities and sign contracts. Baranovichi Cotton Production Association plans to sign a $5 million contract with a Russian counterpart. A RUB100 million contract is part of the portfolio of the Bereza meat-packing plant.

Russia is the main trade and economic partner of Brest Oblast. It accounts for almost 76% of the region's exports. In January-April 2017 Brest Oblast enterprises shipped goods worth more than $540 million to Russia. The export growth rate made up 129.5% as compared to the same period of 2016.

The Fourth Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia is scheduled to take place in Moscow on 29-30 June.