The governments of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Belarus held on Thursday in Caracas a series of sectoral meetings within the framework of the VIII High-Level Joint Commission, including a meeting to strengthen cooperation in the industrial field.
The main point of discussion, as far as industrial matters are concerned, was the reactivation of the Santa Ines Industrial Complex (in Barinas state), particularly the Veneminsk tractor factory and the Mazven truck factory, said the Minister of People’s Power for Industries and National Production, Jose Biomorgi.
The Minister informed that during the meeting, a line of work was discussed in which the supply of missing parts and pieces for the assembly of more than 80 pieces of equipment, including tractors and trucks, is contemplated. He also pointed out that the second line of action will be developed in parallel to re-promote these factories, which will allow the strengthening of the national agro-industrial sector.
At the event, the possibility of providing maintenance service for the equipment leaving the factories was raised. “We reviewed various strategies, among them to use the facilities of the Pedro Camejo Socialist Enterprise, which has the necessary equipment to provide service to the tractors manufactured in Veneminsk; we also evaluated the possibility of creating concessionaires that, besides selling the equipment, provide specialized, basic maintenance and major interventions,” said the minister.
As a relevant aspect, the representative of the industrial portfolio highlighted the generation of a plan that allows the substitution of imported parts and pieces for parts manufactured in the national territory, in order to achieve a progressive process of import substitution: “once we have the plant operational, we will begin to carry out a market study in Latin America to offer our products to the whole region,” he pointed out.
During the development of the VIII Venezuela-Belarus High-Level Joint Commission, which was installed this Wednesday in Caracas, issues related to science and technology, agriculture, transportation, housing, petrochemicals, and food were also evaluated.