Aliaksandr Lukashenka was briefed today during a visit to the Orsha district on agreements between the Vitsyebsk region and Uzbekistan’s Andijan region. Shukhratbek Abdurakhmanov, the governor of the Uzbek region, was also present during the visit.
Abdurakhmanov said the Vitsyebsk region covers 40,000 square kilometres and has a population of 1.2 million, while the Andijan region has about 4 million residents in an area of 4,000 square kilometres.
“That is why we came here and drew up a roadmap with my colleague Aliaksandr Mikalayevich. The first issue is labour resources”, he said.
The governor added that 255 people had already arrived in the Vitsyebsk region. All of them had been assigned placements. An additional agreement was reached for another 5,000 people from the Andijan region to come to the region. They will begin arriving in groups of 500 from September.
“In just four days, we carried out extensive work across the Vitsyebsk region and prepared 10 facilities for raising bulls. Together, these facilities currently have capacity for 7,000 head of cattle”, Vitsyebsk Regional Executive Committee Chairman Aliaksandr Rahozhnik said.
The livestock will be supplied from the region.
“We agreed that both our people and theirs would work there, depending on how many people are needed. And as for the meat, you can transport it by plane or helicopter, live weight, frozen, process it and send it there.
So, the economics need to be kept under control, because for him the main thing is people and raising meat, all the more so for him. But the economics need to work, because what is the point otherwise? He is a smart man, he understands this perfectly well. What is the point for the Vitsyebsk region, what will the Vitsyebsk region get out of this? This needs to be calculated clearly so that no promises are made to Uzbekistan without understanding what they mean. As I said, he is a practical man, he understands”, Lukashenka said.
Uzbek businesses will also reportedly receive 8,000 hectares of agricultural land for raising livestock.
In addition, the Uzbek side will take 2,000 hectares in the Bieshankovichy district to grow potatoes. Potato storage facilities will be provided in the required capacity. Belarus, in turn, will provide technological assistance and planting material.
A site has also been selected for the construction of a modern wood-processing facility with Uzbek investment. The partners also intend to produce wood fuel pellets and supply the products to Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek side will also establish a construction trust staffed with its own workers. The company will be responsible for the construction and repair of Uzbek facilities.
The partners are also expected to receive a former sanatorium school in the urban settlement of Bahusheusk in the Sianno district, which will be converted into a tourist facility for Uzbek citizens.
“Do not focus too much on the Vitsyebsk region. We have the entire southeast with a specific programme. We are not going to cancel it. There are incentives and other benefits there. The southeast of the Mahiliou region, where there is also a shortage of people… but the land there is better than his. So take a look there as well. He simply has the southeast there; take that whole territory and produce there. The main thing is people”, Lukashenka said, addressing Abdurakhmanov.
“And then, what are those seven or eight districts to you? We need to look at the southeast as well. Why am I interested, what is my interest? People. There are not enough people there. And you have nowhere to put your people, especially in the Andijan region. Let them come and work. The same applies to Vitsyebsk. But we need to decide on this. The government is now working to put figures on the table for you: how many people are needed, what skills they should have and so on. If they do not know how to do the work, let them learn; they will train them here quickly, in six months. The same applies to the Vitsyebsk region.
The main thing is that they have the desire. We need hard workers, and I have seen how your people work at our Lyaskavichy farm run by the Presidential Property Management Directorate. They took on about a dozen people with families there. They came and worked day and night, day and night. Our people started looking at them sideways, saying, these people have come here and now we have to work like that too. Well, within a year they got used to it and now work like Uzbeks. That is what we need. So do not hesitate, say what you need. I will be briefed and will keep it under control. I promised the president that we would do this. It is beneficial for us.
In this way, the Vitsyebsk region will develop. We have shortages of personnel and machinery and so on. It requires relatively little money, and it will pay for itself through meat and milk. You will process it; we need to determine where. In Orsha, Pastavy and elsewhere. You will process the milk and meat into whatever products you need. If you want to dry it, then dry it — that is not a problem. If processing plants also need to be built and you consider it necessary, we will build them together, or you can build your own — that is up to you. The final price will depend on this. The economics of the project will depend on it. We will work as brothers, you can be sure of that”, he continued.
