Leningrad Region Governor Outlines New Avenues for Cooperation with Belarus

Minsk currently hosts the international exhibition "INNOPROM" Belarus. For the first time, the Belarusian capital has become a key hub connecting industries within the Eurasian Economic Union, notably through the BELEXPO platform.

Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region in Russia, highlighted that each year opens new opportunities and directions for collaboration. One of the emerging areas is the fuel and energy complex of the Leningrad Region. "We are the most dynamic region in attracting investment to the Russian Federation. In terms of industrial investments, we are actually number one—surpassing even Moscow and the Moscow region. Naturally, energy is a crucial sector for us. Today, our energy companies are actively collaborating with Belarusian counterparts—working on issues related to energy supply reliability, stability, and security. Significantly, we have initiated this cooperation together with Gazprom. We’ve signed an agreement, and Belarusian companies are starting to work on gasification projects in the Leningrad Region. They’re not just supplying components, equipment, or pumps," Drozdenko explained. "This is comprehensive service export—building gas pipelines, constructing and fully installing boiler houses, and ensuring energy security using the most modern approaches and equipment. Environmental safety and sustainability are top priorities as well."

Another key area is ecology. "We already cooperate with Belarusian firms that supply water treatment plants and sewage stations. But we’re going further—developing an environmental monitoring system for water, air, soil, and forests. This is a substantial project. For example, over the next three years, we plan to purchase an additional 52 water treatment stations."

One of the proposals involves creating a multimodal service hub for servicing Belarusian equipment used not only in the Leningrad and St. Petersburg agglomeration but across the entire Northwestern Federal District. The volume of machinery is significant. "For instance, about 25-30% of the equipment we purchase is Belarusian. But servicing this equipment efficiently is crucial. Setting up dedicated service stations at each enterprise isn’t very feasible. Developing a comprehensive service complex would be beneficial. We’ve studied similar models in Bashkortostan and actively proposed to Belarusian partners to work together in this direction."