Providing population with quality and safe foods is primary task – Kazakh PM Bektenov
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov arrived in Minsk, Belarus, to attend the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, Kazinform News Agency reports.
Upon arrival, Kazakh Premier Bektenov met with Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko to discuss the implementation of the agreements reached at the level of the Heads of State. Greater cooperation in the field of trade and economic, industrial, agro-industrial complex, digitalization as well as cultural and humanitarian interaction was under discussion.
Last year, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Belarus stood at 912 million US dollars. It was pointed out that Kazakhstan is ready to increase its exports of 105 commodities for a total of 265 million US dollars.
It was noted that joint projects in the field of mechanical engineering are the key area of bilateral cooperation. As of today, the countries have carried out 11 projects on assembly of tractors, combines and other equipment to the tune of over 200 million US dollars and with creation of 1.6 thousand jobs. The sides confirmed their intention to continue extensive work to ensure dynamic development of Kazakh-Belarusian partnership.
Kazakh Prime Minister Bektenov also visited the Belagro-2024 international exhibition and addressed the plenary session ‘Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union’. The event was also attended by the heads of government of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Vice Prime Minister of Armenia as well as the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
As Bektenov noted, providing the population with quality and safe foods is the primary task of the country. Kazakhstan, as the main wheat and flour producer in Central Asia, uses its agricultural potential to ensure global food stability. The country is among the top 25 food exporters of the world, exporting agricultural products to 80 countries, including in Central Asia and the EAEU. Its agricultural export has doubled to 5.4 billion US dollars over the past five years.
The Kazakh Premier drew attention to the agricultural capacity of the EAEU member countries, that have a total population of 600 million people.
Bektenov outlined the measures needed to address losses in agricultural products due to logistics and storage, as well as promote sustainable food and agricultural systems taking into account expert estimates of global warming and seasonal risks such as flooding and droughts. In addition, he stressed the issue of developing modern agrarian science and active implementation of innovations in the agro-industrial complex.
The Kazakh Prime Minister also examined the national pavilion of Kazakhstan within the exhibition, where domestic agricultural vehicles, including combines, tractors, sprinkler equipment as well as agricultural products of deep processing were presented.
