Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 3 November (BelTA) – The interest of the British private sector in Belarus is on the rise, BelTA learned from Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Belarus Fionna Gibb during the KEF 2017 conference Foundations of the Future on 3 November.

The ambassador noted that trade is one of the key engines of economic development. The UK is an important partner of Belarus, the third export market after Russia and Ukraine. The interest of British companies in Belarus is on the rise.

In her words, the UK considers various options for organizing trade with Belarus. “The British government will continue increasing the volume of support for Belarus in order to dismantle barriers in mutual trade and enable conditions conducive to a stronger competitive ability of the Belarusian economy on global markets,” said Fionna Gibb.

A British expert will arrive in Belarus during the Global Entrepreneurship Week in order to reveal secrets of successful investments. “We will also support the event named Belbiz Battle. It is a contest of startups. Five Belarusian startups, which have been selected by experts, will travel to London early next year and will have an opportunity to present their ideas before the British business community,” stated the ambassador.

Fionna Gibb expressed support for the step-by-step approach of the Belarusian government to economic changes. In her words, fast-moving changes do not fit Belarus’ profile. “But it doesn’t mean that nothing should be changed. First of all, it is necessary to change the attitude of investors and the private sector to Belarus. It needs to be done for them to wake up one day and decide that today they are going to Belarus,” she said.

The ambassador welcomed the establishment of a working group on improving oversight practices and lifting excessive requirements from commercial entities in Belarus. She also welcomed the results the group had achieved.

Fionna Gibb described the introduction of the five-day visa program in Belarus as a constructive move. “I hope the visa-free period will be extended to at least 30 days,” she added.