Minsk Oblast, Russia’s Omsk Oblast to set up joint chemical cluster

Minsk Oblast of Belarus and Omsk Oblast of Russia plan to set up a joint chemical cluster, Deputy Chairman of the Omsk Oblast Government Andrei Shpilenko said at the opening ceremony of the Minsk Oblast Days at VDNKh in Moscow, BelTA has learned.
“The two regions have developed a cooperation plan. In the near future we will move from this general framework plan to concrete actions. We have chosen a whole pool of directions. First, we have decided to work out the so-called joint chemical cluster of the Union State,” Andrei Shpilenko said.
He explained that this cluster will produce import-substituting products. The parties also agreed to involve scientists in addressing the issue of deepening the processing of various chemicals.
“We have been closely communicating on the processing of linen flax. It is no secret that Omsk Oblast in Russia is the leader in the production of this crop. Belarus has been long specializing in the production and processing of this plant. We need this experience very much,” the deputy chairman of the Omsk Oblast Government said. According to him, the parties have big plans to develop cooperation in the agricultural sector.
Mentioning the task set by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to open a Belarusian trading house in Omsk by analogy with the First National Trading House operating in Minsk, Andrei Shpilenko said that the future business model of this facility is currently under the discussion.
“Belarus and the entire Belarusian people are our brothers. This is the key thing, it is always easy to solve any issues with brothers,” the deputy chairman of the Omsk Oblast Government said.