Union Integration in Action: Minsk and Norilsk Nickel Launch Joint Projects

Tatiana Argunova‑Veko

08.09.2026

36

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, held talks with the head of the Interros holding and Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin. The main topic of the meeting was the expansion of industrial cooperation, the creation of new mining equipment, and the introduction of IT technologies into the extraction sector.

At the start of the conversation, the head of state emphasized the guest's business versatility and the openness of the Belarusian side to joint projects. “Considering that Interros is not only Norilsk Nickel, but a multi‑industry structure, we have plenty to discuss. I think there is a convergence of many interests,” said Alexander Lukashenko, adding that he had instructed the Government to work out the “points of convergence” in detail.

The agenda included not only raw materials and engineering, but also high technology. The President noted that Potanin’s structure includes humanitarian projects and the IT sphere, which could also be of interest to Minsk. However, the key emphasis was placed on industrial cooperation.

“Pit dump trucks. Surprisingly for me, it turned out that tires are also of interest — our “Belshina” production. And joint projects for maintenance and creation of new equipment in Krasnoyarsk Krai — that is also an interesting, forward‑looking project for us,” listed the Belarusian leader’s priorities.

Separately, the parties noted a personal moment that, in Alexander Lukashenko’s opinion, should strengthen trust. “We are fellow countrymen by our roots. Your grandfather is from Mogilev region,” remarked the President. “I am a quarter Belarusian. Yes, he was a real peasant. We have roots,” confirmed Vladimir Potanin.

Speaking about the practical implementation of the plans, Vladimir Potanin said that the day before, an agreement was signed between Norilsk Nickel and BELAZ. The document envisages the creation of a joint venture and a repair base, and most importantly — the development of next‑generation mining equipment.

This allows us not only to solve the issue of supplying our enterprise with mining equipment. Joint cooperation will enable us to create a new line of equipment that, according to our calculations and hopes, will successfully compete with the best examples. Because we add to it work elements related to unmanned projects, new types of engines — more economical, safer. And overall we tried to combine our cooperation in the field of traditional mining equipment and other areas with developments in artificial intelligence and big‑data work," — emphasized the Russian businessman.

Alexander Lukashenko summed up that “everything is aimed at getting you to pay attention to Belarus and that we will cooperate more closely with you in this regard.” After the meeting, the parties expect to move the planned projects from the negotiation stage into concrete production contracts.

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We need to translate the Russian fragment into natural English, preserving paragraph breaks. The fragment includes a list of headings, categories, etc. We need to translate everything except proper nouns we cannot render. Many are proper nouns like "Калинковичской земли", "МЧС", "Вооружённые силы РБ", "Год качества", etc. Some are proper nouns like names of sections; we can translate them as they are descriptive. The instruction: "Do not translate the article link, url, or any proper nouns you cannot render." So we need to decide what is a proper noun. Likely headings like "Наш Победный май" (Our Victory May) is a phrase, not a proper noun; we can translate. "Герои освободители" (Heroes liberators) translate. "Герои Калинковичской земли" (Heroes of Kalinkovichi land) maybe "Kalinovich" is a place name; we keep "Kalinovich". "Актуально" (Relevant) translate. "Безопасность" (Safety). "102" maybe a number; keep. "Кибербезопасность" (Cybersecurity). "МЧС информирует" (Emergency Ministry informs). "Вооружённые силы РБ" (Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus). Keep "РБ" as abbreviation for Republic of Belarus; maybe translate as "Armed Forces of Belarus". "Время молодых" (Time of the Youth). "Год качества" (Year of Quality). "Год мира и созидания" (Year of Peace and Creation). "Журналистское расследование" (Journalistic investigation). "Закон и порядок" (Law and Order). "#Stop_Наркотик" (Hashtag Stop_Narkotik). Keep hashtag as is? Probably translate the word after underscore? It's "#Stop_Наркотик". Could translate as "#Stop_Drug". But it's a proper noun? Might be a campaign; we could translate the Russian word. I'd translate as "#Stop_Drug". "Здравоохранение" (Healthcare). "Зямля бацькоў нашых" (Belarusian: "Земля наших отцов" in Belarusian language). Keep as is? It's a phrase in Belarusian; we could translate: "Land of our forefathers". But it's a proper noun? It's a section title; we can translate. "Инфографика" (Infographic). "Успех района – в копилку Гомельщины" (Success of the district – into the treasury of Gomel region). Keep "Гомельщины" as region name; translate as "Gomel region". "Калинковичское качество" (Kalinovich quality). Keep "Kalinovich". "Колонка редактора" (Editor's column). "Культура" (Culture). "Людям о людях" (About people for people). "Мир увлечений" (World of hobbies). "Новые имена Беларуси" (New names of Belarus). "Человек и его дело" (Person and his work). "Местная власть" (Local authority). "Образование" (Education). "Официально" (Officially). "Президент" (President). "Профсоюзы" (Trade unions). "Жатва-2026" (Harvest-2026). Keep hyphen and year. "События и факты" (Events and facts). "Социум" (Society). "Спорт" (Sport). "Туризм" (Tourism). "К 100-летию Калинковичского района" (To the 100th anniversary of Kalinovich district). Keep "Kalinovich". "Фоторепортаж" (Photo report). "Видеоновости" (Video news). "Институт президентства" (Presidency Institute). "ВЫБОРЫ - 2025" (ELECTIONS - 2025). Keep uppercase? Could translate as "ELECTIONS - 2025". "Год благоустройства" (Year of improvement). "Жатва-2025" (Harvest-2025). "ВНС - 2025" (All-Belarusian People's Congress? Actually ВНС stands for Всебелорусское народное собрание; we could translate as "All-Belarusian People's Assembly - 2025". But it's an acronym; maybe keep as "ВНС - 2025" but translate meaning? Safer to translate as "All-Belarusian People's Assembly - 2025". "Год белорусской женщины" (Year of Belarusian woman). "Республиканский субботник" (Republican subbotnik). Then "БАННЕРЫ" (Banners). Then "Мы в социальных сетях" (We are in social networks). Then numbers with "подписчики" (subscribers). We need to translate "подписчики" as "subscribers". Keep numbers.

We must preserve paragraph breaks. The fragment appears as one block with line breaks? Let's see original:

""" Наш Победный майГерои освободителиГерои Калинковичской землиАктуальноБезопасность102КибербезопасностьМЧС информируетВооружённые силы РБВремя молодыхГод качестваГод мира и созиданияЖурналистское расследованиеЗакон и порядок#Stop_НаркотикЗдравоохранениеЗямля бацькоў нашыхИнфографикаУспех района – в копилку ГомельщиныКалинковичское качествоКолонка редактораКультураЛюдям о людяхМир увлеченийНовые имена БеларусиЧеловек и его делоМестная властьОбразованиеОфициальноПрезидентПрофсоюзыЖатва-2026События и фактыСоциумСпортТуризмК 100-летию Калинковичского районаФоторепортажВидеоновостиИнститут президентстваВЫБОРЫ - 2025Год благоустройстваЖатва-2025ВНС - 2025Год белорусской женщиныРеспубликанский субботник

БАННЕРЫ

Мы в социальных сетях

640

подписчики

1,369

подписчики

11,2

подписчики

7,579

подписчики

1,73

подписчики

8,135

подписчики

2,894

подписчики """

There are line breaks after each section? Actually after the long list there is a blank line then "БАННЕРЫ", then blank line, then "Мы в социальных сетях", then blank line, then numbers and "подписчики" repeated.

We need to preserve paragraph breaks. So we should output English translation with same line breaks.

Let's translate each line.

First line: "На