Events

MOGILEV, 14 April (BelTA) – An agreement on establishing friendly relations between Mogilev Oblast and Hunan Province was signed on 14 April. The document was signed by Du Jiahao, Secretary of the Hunan Province Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Mogilev Oblast Governor Vladimir Domanevsky, BelTA has learned.

Guided by principles of equality and mutual benefits, Mogilev Oblast and Hunan Province intend to take care of exchange and cooperation in economy, trade, tourism, culture, education, workforce training in addition to promoting joint prosperity and development.

The agreement represents a logical continuation of efforts aimed at enabling tighter partnership between Mogilev Oblast and Hunan Province. Their relations began in summer 2016 with a memorandum of cooperation. The document helped establish the Belarusian-Chinese joint venture Zoomlion-MAZ in Mogilev Oblast. The venture was founded by the Chinese company Zoomlion and the Belarusian automaker MAZ. The new enterprise uses spare premises of the Belarusian enterprises Mogilevtransmash and Strommashina. The premises will be used to start making utility vehicles for civil engineering industry and utilities industry, including automobile cranes, concrete mixers, concrete pumps, mobile platform vehicles, street-cleaning vehicles, and fire trucks.

Vladimir Domanevsky said he was confident that the joint venture will be successful. The decision to establish it in Mogilev was strategically correct because the oblast capital boasts well-developed industrial infrastructure, respectable workforce and R&D potential. The head of the oblast administration suggested that the Chinese side should contact the Belarusian-Russian University for the sake of training specialists for the joint venture.

Speaking about prospects of expanding partnering relations, the Mogilev Oblast governor pointed out that the Chinese delegation should get familiar with products made by the private company Protos, which makes metal structures and various metal products. The company has nearly finished the certification process that will allow entering the market of the European Union. The free economic zone (FEZ) Mogilev is ready to offer good conditions. There are prospects for cooperation in food trade.

Vladimir Domanevsky also noted that seven districts of Mogilev Oblast border on the Russian Federation. They are entitled to preferences stipulated by the Belarus president’s decree No.235 on the social and economic development of Mogilev Oblast’s southeast. “Companies and investors, who come here, enjoy considerable preferences. The factor creates prerequisites for the vigorous development of industrial manufacturing,” stated the Mogilev Oblast governor.

In his opinion, the Belarusian and Chinese nations should not be united by economy alone. It is important to explore social cooperation avenues so that the younger generation could continue what the leaders of the two nations started. It is necessary to enable conditions for regular meetings of young Belarusians and Chinese. It is necessary to arrange exchange programs for university professors. It is necessary to exchange visits of delegations for the sake of studying the best education practices in schools and universities.

Vladimir Domanevsky reminded that the presidents of Belarus and China had clearly outlined priorities in the development of regional partnership, which should be based on stronger relations between cities. The signing of an agreement on cooperation between Mogilev and Changsha, the administrative capital of Hunan Province, is under consideration. There are plans to arrange Changsha Culture Days in Mogilev in 2018.

Du Jiahao promised that interested parties in Hunan Province would carefully consider every cooperation avenue Mogilev Oblast had suggested. Du Jiahao also assured that the Chinese delegation will definitely attend the celebration of the 750^th anniversary of Mogilev.