Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 2 November (BelTA) – The European Union will continue to provide assistance to Belarus in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus Andrea Wiktorin noted at the KEF 2017 conference “Foundations of the Future” on 2 November, BelTA has learned.

“Cooperation with international financial institutions is of great importance for the EU. The union has always supported the negotiation process between Belarus and the IMF. We firmly believe that an agreement with the IMF will improve the economic situation in Belarus to a great extent and will become a positive signal to the whole world. It is important for Belarus to cultivate a positive image and send correct messages to the international investment community,” Andrea Wiktorin emphasized.

She commended the positive track record of Belarus-EU interaction. “This year, we sealed a €6 million deal with the EBRD to support economic development in the regions. The project is designed to grant up to €70,000 to small and medium-sized enterprises in the regions for consulting services. These grants can be used to draw up business plans and enhance marketing and certification systems. We believe that such assistance will raise the quality of work of small and medium-sized enterprises and create more jobs. We are carrying out a similar project with the World Bank to keep improving and facilitating the business environment. We hope we are moving in the right direction,” Andrea Wictorin noted.

She underlined that the projects she mentioned do not reflect the full scope of Belarus-EU interaction. “We offer a wide range of instruments that Belarus can take advantage of. In particular, the country can get loans from the European Investment Bank. It can also help attract private resources. Our close cooperation opens the doors for investment in transport, communications, sustainable energy, waste and water infrastructure management,” Andrea Wiktorin added.