Business news

MINSK, 19 May (BelTA) – A Belarusian-European investment forum focusing on promoting the European Union’s investments in Belarus will take place in Vienna, Austria on 24 May, representatives of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA.

The event will take place in the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria with assistance of the European Union and the Republic of Belarus. The forum will be opened by First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky, European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Alain Pilloux, and President of the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria Christoph Leitl.

The forum will highlight Belarus’ advantages and investment opportunities, new conditions and prospects of economic cooperation with the European private sector. Close attention will be paid to the development of interaction in the financial and banking sphere, information and communication technologies, and environmental construction. Plans have been made to hold a plenary session in the form of panel discussions focusing on two major blocks: a presentation of investment opportunities in Belarus and European business success stories in Belarus. Apart from that, meetings of representatives of the business communities will be held during the forum.

The investment forum is expected to gather about 150 representatives of Europe’s largest companies, international financial institutions, and government agencies of Belarus and the European Union. In particular, the Belarusian delegation will include representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Economy Ministry, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, the National Agency of Investment and Privatization, and the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone.

The main purpose of the forum is to improve the investment, trade, and economic image of Belarus abroad and to facilitate the flow of European investments into the Belarusian economy.