Meeting with Governor of Chukotka Autonomous Area Vladislav Kuznetsov

Belarus has great interest in cooperation with Chukotka. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his meeting with Governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Area Vladislav Kuznetsov.

"Of course, we have great interest in this region. It is a land still waiting to be fully explored, even for us. And generally speaking, what you have is often what we lack," said Aleksandr Lukashenko. "I can't say that Russia lacks what we have. Of course, Russia has a great deal. But we will try to compete with Russian products where it counts, in order to win your interest. It's a very fascinating region, both for me personally and for Belarusians."

The head of state noted that currently, Belarus and the Chukotka Autonomous Area have virtually no mutual trade. In this regard, he instructed that an agreement be reached within the government on developing bilateral cooperation: "It's a shame we have virtually no trade with each other. That shouldn't be the case. So the government needs to come to an agreement on how we will cooperate going forward."

Among the participants in the meeting from the Belarusian side was a minister whom Aleksandr Lukashenko described as "no stranger to Chukotka." He was referring to Minister of Sports and Tourism Sergei Kovalchuk, who had served in this region of Russia for three years. He now oversees cooperation between Belarus and the Chukotka Autonomous Area. In this regard, the Belarusian leader instructed Sergei Kovalchuk to explore possible areas of cooperation in greater detail. "You may need to spend your vacation there. Go and see the entire region, so that we're not working in the dark, and so that you, as a Belarusian comrade and minister, can guide us on what we should do there and where to focus our efforts," the President added.

The head of state reiterated that for Belarusians, this region is in a sense uncharted territory. "We can hardly even fathom what Chukotka is like, which is a shame. But I believe life isn't winding down, it's only starting in earnest, and we will go there," he said. "The President of Russia and I have spoken a great deal about Chukotka, both in the past and recently. To me, it's a rather exotic region. Although he [the President of Russia] says: 'We should go there!' I ask him: 'What's the airfield like, the airport? What kind of plane can land there?' He tells me all about it."

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the Chukotka Autonomous Area is among the Russian regions that rely on northern deliveries, i.e. the shipment of goods to areas in the Far North. "I know that about three million people live in regions that rely on northern deliveries. This is also very important for us. I hesitate to say that Chukotka will serve as some kind of foothold for us in this regard. I can't, because I don't know whether that's possible or not. But we must explore this possibility, we must engage with this region. Of course, we understand that huge numbers of people cannot live in Chukotka. But our people are there and they want to live a normal life," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

"God willing, things will work out for you there, on the very edge of our Fatherland. We are counting on you to be our man on Chukotka, should we ever need advice," the Belarusian leader concluded.