Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 13 May (BelTA) - The interest of international financial organizations to projects in Belarus is growing, Poland, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Konrad Pawlik said at a seminar for Polish investors "Investment opportunities in Belarus in the context of the existing international instruments" in Minsk on 13 May, BelTA has learned.

"Recently we have seen the growing interest of international financial organizations to projects in Belarus. We hope that the improvement of the economic situation in Belarus will improve the country's credit rating, which, in turn, will help intensify the Polish-Belarusian economic relations,” said Konrad Pawlik.

In his view, the interest of international financial organizations to Belarus is associated not only with the problems that exist in other countries of the region, which until now were recipients of the funds from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. "The fact that international economic organizations see Belarus’ potential and prospects for joint projects is not surprising. This shows that the chances for further positive economic development are seen as optimistic not only by us. The main thing is that the rhetoric of reform should turn into real action,” he said. Konrad Pawlik recalled the impact of the cooperation with international financial organizations on the transformation and development of the Polish economy. Implementation of projects in different sectors of the Polish economy, including those that were not sufficiently attractive from a commercial point of view, allowed the country to not only upgrade its economy but also introduce international standards in terms of attracting investment.

Addressing the Polish companies, Konrad Pawlik invited them to take advantage of the opportunities offered by international organizations in Belarus. He added: "I am sure that it will give added impetus for the further dynamic development of the Belarusian-Polish relations and effective use of the existing potential."

Konrad Pawlik welcomed Belarus' use of the opportunities offered by the Polish banking system and the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (KUKE). "In view of the excellent results of the cooperation in this field and very high assessment of Belarus as a responsible loan borrower, we have decided to lower the interest rates on the credit insurance for the projects with Belarus to a minimum level," he said.

The purpose of the seminar in Minsk for Polish investors is to tell them about the investment opportunities in Belarus with the help of international programs of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation. Investment opportunities in Belarus were also presented by representatives of the Department for Foreign Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, the National Agency for Investment and Privatization, the Free Economic Zones Mogilev and Grodnoinvest.