Business news

MINSK, 18 December (BelTA) – Belarus plans to receive the sixth and seventh tranches of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) by the end of Q1 2018, Belarusian Finance Minister Vladimir Amarin told the media on 18 December, BelTA informs.

“We plan to complete the program with the EFSD in 2018. There are two more tranches worth a total of $400 million to be disbursed,” the minister said.

An EFSD mission came to Belarus in November 2017. “We met to discuss the targets we need to reach. We are now working with the EFSD but, I think, we will not get the sixth tranche by the end of 2017. On top of changes in the EFSD top management, there are certain procedures to be followed. I think that we will receive both tranches in Q1 2018,” Vladimir Amarin clarified.

Belarus will continue to cooperate with the EFSD, the minister underlined. “Loans are not the only form of financial assistance. We can carry out various investment projects, too,” Vladimir Amarin stated.

BelTA reported earlier that on 25 March 2016 the Belarusian Finance Ministry and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) signed an agreement on a $2 billion loan to be provided by the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD). The agreement envisages allocating the money to support economic policy measures and structural changes of the Belarusian government and the National Bank in 2016-2018. The economic policy measures and structural changes were approved by the EFSD Council.

The money shall be granted in seven tranches in 2016-2018. Belarus’ government budget received $200 million as the fifth tranche of the loan on 25 October 2017.