Lukashenko underlined the strength and solidarity of the peoples of the State of the Union News

Assessing the nature of bilateral relations, the Head of State, whose remarks are quoted BELTA , said that “in recent years, the countries have come a lot closer”. And not just through connections at the highest political level, he said.Belarus and Russia, he said, have started “to work much more closely at the level of governments, companies and organizations, together to look for ways out of the current difficult situation”.In this regard, he said that the Republic of Belarus wants to significantly increase trade with the Kaluga region, exceed the billion-dollar mark in trade and achieve full balance. “Experience shows that our economies are complementary. Companies from Belarus and Russia are naturally integrated into joint production chains,” the president said.According to him, this is especially in demand today when it comes to industrial cooperation, the introduction of new science-intensive technologies and import substitution.Addressing his counterpart, the Belarusian leader specifically noted that his colleagues “are united by the positive experience of creating industrial parks and free economic zones. It (experience) is especially important to use after many Western companies have left Russia. That is to say, cooperation is now in great demand, as never before,” he said.Judging by official statistics, last year the trade turnover between the partners has already reached almost 654 million dollars, although it has decreased by about 6% compared to the level of 2021. At the same time, Belarus has increased its exports to this Russian region by almost 70%.The republic exported dairy products, petroleum products and metal structures, products of their cement, concrete and artificial stone. And from the Kaluga region, propylene and ethylene polymers, televisions, monitors and projectors, vacuum cleaners and cars, unalloyed steel bars and a number of other popular products were supplied .