Russian senators, chairman and deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrifood Policy and Environmental Management, Mikhail Shchetinin and Irina Hecht, speaking with correspondents of Vestnik Kavkaza, positively assessed the results of the year in the development of agriculture in the North Caucasus and Russia's agricultural cooperation with the countries of the South Caucasus.
Mikhail Shchetinin first of all drew attention to the scale of fruit gardens planted in the North Caucasus this year. "Of course, for us the North Caucasus is, first of all, fruits, and now there are quite large gardens in the Caucasus. An important topic is logistics centers for products, and such logistics centers have appeared in the North Caucasus this year. Many issues considering the development of gardening that have been raised by the North Caucasus republics over the years are being resolved, and this is actively promoted by the representatives of the Caucasus in the Federation Council," he said.
The senator added that the issue of tourism development is actively being solved in the North Caucasus Federal District as well. "To my deep satisfaction, this problem is being solved consistently. The leaders of all the republics of the North Caucasus are interested in this. I think that this is one of the serious directions of the economic development of the NCFD," Mikhail Shetinin said.
Irina Hecht especially noted Dagestan's successes. "The latest rating showed that Dagestan is the best in terms of dynamics of economic development, which is connected, among other things, with the development of agriculture and investments in wholesale distribution centers. It is in the country's top-5," she said.
"I think there's still room for agricultural growth in the North Caucasus, and Dagestan is a good example of excellent growth results," Irina Hecht stressed.
Speaking about contacts with the South Caucasus, Mikhail Schetinin first of all mentioned agrarian cooperation with Azerbaijan. "We probably have less contact with Georgia, but, of course, there is such cooperation with Azerbaijan, the export us both citrus fruits and vegetables. Such cooperation will expand, because Azerbaijan very actively cooperates with both Russia and other states of the Commonwealth within the CIS," the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrifood Policy and Environmental Management noted.
Irina Hecht recalled the official agrarian agreements between Russia and the countries of the South Caucasus. "We have signed treaties with Armenia and Azerbaijan. These ties have became closer after the sanctions were imposed, and their strengthening was expressed in large volumes of agricultural products from these countries. And its quality is higher," the deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrifood Policy and Environmental Management concluded.
