Opinions & Interviews

Call on Belarus, Italy to develop cooperation in SMBs

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MINSK, 30 June (BelTA) - Belarus and Italy need to develop cooperation in small and medium-sized businesses, President of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, the president and chairman of the board of the Mikro Kapital Group, the honorary consul of Belarus in Naples Vincenzo Trani said at an online seminar “Belarus - Italy: Economic cooperation at a time of global challenges”, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus and Italy should actively promote ties between small and medium-sized businesses. All Italian companies that work in Belarus are basically SMBs. The main focus, including in the conditions of the pandemic, should be kept on the support of contacts between small and medium-sized businesses, on the development of business ties between them,” Vincenzo Trani believes.

According to him, special attention should be paid to cooperation in the services sector, especially in the IT. “An additional topic that needs to be explored further is the online delivery of goods between Italy and Belarus. There is no such service between my country and Eurasia. So Belarus can play a very important role in this communication,” he said.
 
The president of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce also stressed the importance of restoring the air service between Belarus and Italy. “This is necessary for business, because it applies not only to tourism but also to the supply of goods,” Vincenzo Trani believes.

The trade between Belarus and Italy in 2019 amounted to $900.7 million (99.1% as against 2018). Belarus’ exports to Italy last year amounted to $97.9 million (79.1%), imports - $802.9 million (102.2%) Belarus had a deficit of $705 million in trade with Italy in 2019. In January-March 2020, the trade was $182.4 million (90.3% as compared to the same period of 2019). Exports came at $21.2 million (83.7%), imports totaled $166.2 million (91.3%).

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