President of Belarus holds talks with head of Sakha Republic

Regional aspect of cooperation between Belarus and Russia was discussed today in the Palace of Independence. President held talks with head of Sakha Republic. Regional delegation is working in Minsk. This richest northern region is interested in increasing cooperation with our country. There is mutual interest in supplies of equipment, food and other products

The sanctions were supposed to undermine Russia and Belarus. But joint work on technological sovereignty nullifies all efforts of Western "well-wishers". Alexander Lukashenko suggests that heads of Russian regions act simply: if something is banned, buy it from Belarus!

The Sakha Republic is the largest Russian region. It is so large that it has three time zones. Yakutia - and this is another name for the region - is larger than Argentina, Kazakhstan, and in terms of area, you could say it's India. By the way, it can also be +40 here, although in winter it can reach minus 70. The harsh climate - and the region's capital is in the permafrost zone - toughens people!

The head of Yakutia is in Minsk for the first time. Since Belarus and Russia are on the path of strengthening regional ties, the Sakha Republic should join other regions. The trade turnover is not zero, in recent years we have approached a hundred million dollars. But we can expand the horizons.

As for the spheres of mutual interests, they, according to the President, can be very diverse. And at present, they are also dictated by a certain pressure from the West. "I mean Western fascist sanctions. As I tell every Russian governor: if something is banned, buy Belarusian goods," Alexander Lukashenko noted. "We will probably be able to replace Western goods for you."

If we talk about Yakutia in this sense, which needs to replace imported equipment for mining enterprises, Belarus produces it. And large-scale investment projects in this industry allow increasing supplies several times. "The famous quarry dump trucks of the Belarusian automobile plant BELAZ will help to exceed all of Yakutia's plans to increase mineral extraction. Our heavy-duty trucks have proven themselves to be excellent in the regions of the Russian Federation," the President said.

"If you wish and are ready to rely on our machines and equipment, Belarus will be able to organize a multi-brand service center in Yakutia," Alexander Lukashenko assured.

The President drew attention to the fact that Belarus has excellent builders and high standards of urban infrastructure. And domestic design and construction organizations are ready to work with Yakutia.

The head of state thanked Aisen Nikolaev for his interest in Belarus and his willingness to work with our country, despite the considerable distance. The President also guaranteed that all agreements reached would be implemented accurately and on time in all areas. "Thank you again for coming to this distant land for you, but this is a very close land for us. Any Russian region is very close to us. We actively cooperate with Sakhalin and Vladivostok. Well, you are halfway there, so you are not that far from us," Alexander Lukashenko summed up.

Head of the Sakha Republic Aisen Nikolaev, in turn, noted that he was visiting Belarus for the first time and it was a great honor for him to meet in person. "We highly value the opportunity to develop cooperation with Belarus within the framework of developing allied relations between our countries. I would like to sincerely thank you for your work and constant attention to the issues of developing interregional cooperation," he said.

Belarus and Russia are obliged to work together to move away from the dictate of the West in the field of critical technologies

Aisen Nikolaev, Head of the Sakha Republic (Russia):

"We are obliged to work together to move away from the dictatorship of the West in the field of critical technologies," the head of the region emphasized. "Our countries, I believe, are capable of jointly making any technology that exists in the world. The main thing is that there should be a desire, and the teams and people would be ready for it."

Viktor Karankevich, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus:

"There are proposals to involve design organizations in construction projects. And also to cooperate on drones. This is promising and in demand today. There are common growth points - it's time to act."