Penza, 15 April 2013. PenzaNews. During a meeting with journalists on Monday, April 15, the governor of the Penza region Vasily Bochkarev announced a number of joint projects with Belarus to be implemented after the visit of the government delegation to the republic on April 10–12. According to Vasily Bochkarev, one of priority projects is animal and vegetable farms, in particular, cultivation of potatoes.

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“Today Belarusians can do this better than we. However, the task that I set is to change the situation in the Penza region within the next two years. The republic uses locally produced agricultural machinery both in the fields and in sorting and packing. Belarusians are ready to give us this machinery on lease terms, which will significantly reduce expenses when compared to purchasing the same machinery in other European countries,” the governor said.

Vasily Bochkarev paid special attention to the issue of modernization of old farms, which are currently inefficient in the Penza region. According to the governor, Belarus is a good example of quality modernization of agricultural enterprises.

“We also observed new Belarusian municipal equipment based on MAZ production, and we intend to discuss the details of its pilot use on the roads of the Penza region. As for the road construction, the next year, the representatives of Minsk road construction companies are ready to arrive in our region and determine a site for construction. This way, our foreign colleagues will build a road and share their experience with Penza specialists,” the governor stated.

Speaking about the meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Vasily Bochkarev pointed out that the head of the republic got interested in the production of turkey meat and a project of construction of a “mega-farm” in Kuznetsky area, the Penza region.

“I also invited Alexander Lukashenko to visit our region in the next year and take part in the commemoration ceremony devoted to the 200th anniversary of Mikhail Lermontov,” the governor noted.

The delegation from the Penza region visited the Republic of Belarus on April 10–12, 2013. During the visit, the delegates met with President Alexander Lukashenko, the Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusyi, and the Chairman of Executive Committee of the Minsk region Boris Batura.

During the meetings, the delegation signed a number of documents, in particular, the action plan for the development of cooperation between Belarus and the Penza region in 2013–2014, and the agreement between the government of the Penza region and Executive Committee the Minsk region on economic, scientific and cultural cooperation.