VITEBSK, July 15. /Dunyo IA/. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and khokim of Andijan Region of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Abdurakhmanov visited the Vitebsk Region, where they discussed the implementation of joint projects, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA).

The cooperation plans are being developed as a continuation of the agreements reached between the two countries during the official visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Belarus on July 8-9. They include investments in various sectors and the employment of Uzbek citizens in Belarus.

“I promised the President [of Uzbekistan] that we would do this. It is beneficial for us. This will contribute to the development of the Vitebsk Region,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

According to him, the region is ready to develop agricultural processing and, if necessary, jointly build a processing enterprise. “We will work together as brothers! You can have no doubt about that,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

Khokim Shukhrat Abdurakhmanov thanked Belarus for the conditions created for work in the Vitebsk Region and conveyed greetings from President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that workers from Uzbekistan would be provided with housing, while their children would be able to attend kindergartens and schools under the same conditions as Belarusian children. “Having arrived here, they should know that they are not aliens to us,” he said.

The Belarusian leader also suggested considering employment opportunities not only in the Vitebsk Region but also in the southeastern districts of the Mogilev Region. Uzbek citizens are expected to work in agriculture, construction, industry, the service sector, as well as as junior medical staff.

Earlier, the first 255 residents of Andijan Region have already arrived in the Vitebsk Region. In total, within the framework of the agreements reached, 5,000 workers are planned to be sent to Belarus. They will begin arriving from September in groups of 500 people.

The agreements also provide for the transfer to the Uzbek side of 10 facilities in seven districts for cattle fattening and the allocation of 8,000 hectares of agricultural land. Another 2,000 hectares in the region’s Beshenkovichi District will be provided for potato cultivation. It is noted that Belarus will provide partners with planting materials, technologies and expert support.

In addition, the sides intend to implement projects in woodworking, the production of wood fuel pellets and construction. A trade house selling Uzbek goods has already opened in Vitebsk, and premises for an Uzbek cuisine restaurant have been selected. A former sanatorium school in the urban settlement of Bogushevsk is planned to be converted into a tourist base for Uzbek citizens.

Meanwhile, at a meeting in Tashkent today on the implementation of agreements with Belarus, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed to organize systematic work on the employment of citizens.

At the first stage, 1,100 people are planned to be sent on a competitive basis to work at 13 enterprises in the Vitebsk and other regions of Belarus. A representative office of the Migration Agency of Uzbekistan will be opened in Vitebsk to support this process.

The meeting also noted that a package of 30 new joint projects worth more than 100 million dollars had been formed in the Vitebsk and other regions of Belarus. They cover livestock farming, wood processing, logistics, trade and services.

By the end of the year, an intermodal logistics center is also set to be launched at Orsha railway station, which will handle export-import cargoes under preferential tariff conditions.

It is worth recalling that during the visit of President of Uzbekistan to Belarus, the two sides signed the Declaration on establishing strategic partnership, which provides for increasing bilateral trade turnover to 2 billion dollars, as well as implementing joint projects in various sectors.

Photo credit: BelTA