Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 18 September (BelTA) – Belarus’ macroeconomic policy could be encouraged, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.

Your economy has started to recover, to show economic growth. Belarus’ macroeconomic policy, in our opinion, could be encouraged, the EBRD president said.

According to him, the integrated efforts to improve the image and investment attractiveness of Belarus were a very important factor. Absolutely everybody in the country, from the president to other officials, are thinking of what needs to be done for Belarus to have advantages over competitors, head of the Bank said.

Suma Chakrabarti acknowledged that the EBRD forecast for Belarus published in May was not correct. The new forecast will be released in the autumn. He said that he cannot tell which figures it will include, but in any case, the basic parameters of economic growth will be higher than those indicated in the previous forecast. Economic growth is due, among other things, to Belarus’ efforts to expand trade and investment links

He also commented on a new stage in the relations between Belarus with India: “To expand the range of partners is a very important task for every emerging market. The matter is not just about political cooperation. Trade links with as many countries as possible will help diversify the economy and reduce risks. I applaud the fact that Belarus is expanding its reach into India, the Persian Gulf, many other distant countries, and the fact that the delegations headed by the president visit these states.” Suma Chakrabarti believes such policy is right as it will make the Belarusian economy more sustainable in the long term.