Opinions & Interviews

Stefano Bianchi noted that his first trip to the Belarusian region is mainly of an economic purpose to update the information on doing business conditions for investors. “The crisis in Italy is in the stage of slow recovery. Italian companies are revising their policy to internationalization, seeking new markets and room for their production. Many of them are showing a big interest in Belarus,” the diplomat said.

The Italian Ambassador paid a visit to the free economic zone Brest and met with representatives of the Italian business. Stefano Bianchi is confident that positive results of their activity are a good example and a stimulus for attracting potential investors in Belarus.

Brest Oblast Governor Anatoly Lis noted for his part that Brest Oblast is always open to fruitful cooperation in all economic and social sectors. In his words, there are 87 companies with the Italian capital in Brest Oblast. The trade between Brest Oblast and Italy exceeded $77 million in 2014, up 13% from 2013. “These are good figures. However, they still do not show a full picture of the bilateral potential in economic cooperation. I hope that our first meeting will give an impetus to long-term cooperation,” the governor said.

The parties also discussed the project of the Italian industrial district in Brest. The memorandum of understanding regarding the development of this district was signed by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries in June 2011. Two land plots in the Brest free economic zone (next to the airport) have been allocated for this purpose. The first one is of 26 hectares with ready engineering infrastructure for industrial facilities. The second land plot comprises 174 hectares of unoccupied land. “Belarus has met its commitments and expects its Italian partners to respond,” Anatoly Lis added.

According to Stefano Bianchi, the Italian side has not lost its interest in the project. According to the diplomat, there is a good basis for restarting the project on developing an industrial district in Brest. “For a number of reasons and first of all due to the economic crisis and contraction of production in Italy, the project does not work today. However, there is a mutual wish in its implementation. An important factor for launching the project is the fact that over the past three years the trade between Belarus and Italy has been growing despite an unfavorable economic situation. The number of Italian investors ready to invest their capital in Belarus has also been on the rise,” the Italian Ambassador said.

The industrial district is a so-called model of production development, tried and tested in many oblasts of Italy. The model is based on some big companies that concentrate around them smaller companies that supply raw material or provide services. According to the project developers, the model is an important component securing sustainable development of the district and its companies.

While in Brest Oblast, Stefano Bianchi also took part in the opening of the photo exhibition about Emilia 2012 and cultural heritage after the earthquake.