«I am very glad that you are here today. Our indicators seem to be quite good. Over the past five years, we have doubled our trade. The economy is always the foundation of our life. We will soon reach $300 million in trade. But after studying the areas of cooperation with you, I realized that by deepening these areas we can expand trade significantly», Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The president assured that Belarus will fulfill the agreements that will be reached during the Ryazan Oblast governor’s visit. «I want you to understand: you have come to your home city. We are always glad to welcome guests from the Russian Federation (although it’s hard to call them guests). I want you to be confident that everything your delegation agrees upon with Belarusians in Minsk (in manufacturing, agriculture, machine tool building, and the production of passenger and freight vehicles) will be fulfilled on time. We are a people of our word, and we have always been and will be,» he emphasized.

The head of state noted that Ryazan Oblast has long been known for its strong military personnel. «Many Belarusians graduated from the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School, and many still serve in our Armed Forces. These are strong people who care about the airborne troops, the berets, and so on. I preserved many units that were disbanded after the collapse of the Soviet Union as a sign of respect for these people, who always led the way, fought, and defended our interests», the Belarusian leader said.

Trade between Belarus and Ryazan Oblast has been growing steadily over the past five years. Last year, it reached $279.1 million, which was 6.9% more year-on-year. Belarus supplied the region with flat-rolled non-alloy steel, petroleum products, fish, plastic construction components, electric batteries, and other goods. Imports consisted mainly of slag wool, rapeseed seeds, soybeans, refined copper and copper alloys, carpentry and construction products, and other items.