Business forum of the Republic of Belarus and Nizhny Novgorod Region

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin hosted a business forum of the Republic of Belarus and the Nizhny Novgorod region of the Russian Federation. The forum was organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry together with the Union "Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Nizhny Novgorod Region".

The event was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Gleb Nikitin, Chairman of the Board – General Director of the Union "Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Nizhny Novgorod Region" Ivan Razuvaev, General Director of the Minsk Branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Nabeshko.

Belarusian business was represented by more than 70 heads of companies operating in various sectors: woodworking, microelectronics, innovative production, chemical food industry, agro-industrial complex, light industry, construction. More than 190 representatives of executive authorities, business associations and companies of the Nizhny Novgorod Region took part in the event from the Russian side.

Gleb Nikitin, the Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor, stressed that the interaction between the enterprises of Nizhny Novgorod and Belarus has significantly increased recently.

"The dynamics of trade turnover remained positive by the end of 2022, the indicators are high. I believe that in many respects we have achieved such success thanks to regular joint activities. Our work also contributes to the solution of many issues within the framework of bilateral cooperation," said Gleb Nikitin.

The Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus wished the business forum participants productive work and meaningful discussions.

"I am sure that the forum participants will find new projects, conclude new contracts and will certainly agree on what else needs to be done this year in order to bring cooperation to a new level," Roman Golovchenko said.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus stressed the importance of the large-scale work that was carried out by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Nizhny Novgorod Region to organize such a business forum.

Welcoming the forum participants, General Director of the Minsk Branch of the BelCCI Sergei Nabeshko noted that Belarus and the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia have effective and friendly relations. Cooperation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry is actively developing, the parties exchange visits on a regular basis, hold a number of business events.

"Every visit to the Russian Federation observes an increase in the number of participants from the Belarusian side. Today, there are more than 70 Belarusian participants, representatives of about 50 enterprises. Of course, there are partners who know each other and work on a permanent basis, but at the same time there are many representatives of small and medium-sized businesses who want to establish new contacts," Sergey Nabeshko noted. He expressed confidence that the visit of the Belarusian business and the forum would deepen cooperation ties, contribute to the implementation of successful projects, and also invited the business community of the Nizhny Novgorod region to visit Belarus to continue productive interaction. "Chambers of Commerce and Industry will continue to provide effective businesses dialogue tools, including within the framework of the upcoming Forum of the Regions of Belarus and Russia, the INNOPROM exhibition and other congress events," the General Director of the Minsk Branch of the BelCCI said.

The main focus of the forum was the discussion of economic development tools, such as territories with special tax regimes, science and innovation support programs, exchange trading. There were presentations of the investment potential of the Nizhny Novgorod region, an import substitution platform created on the basis of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, the possibilities of industrial parks and other special economic zones in Belarus and the Nizhny Novgorod region. The possibilities of implementing joint projects, participation of Belarusian and Russian companies in public procurement in the two countries were considered.

 In addition, the forum was preceded by B2B negotiations at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Representatives of 34 companies from Belarus, 140 Nizhny Novgorod enterprises gathered at the negotiation platform. In total, more than 500 bilateral meetings took place, new business contacts were established to deepen trade and economic cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian region.

As a result of the forum and negotiations, bilateral documents were signed – cooperation agreements, including between the Administration of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park "Great Stone" and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, as well as contracts for the supply of products.