MINSK, 29 September (BelTA) – Belarus needs to secure its quality and prompt transition from getting foreign loans to attracting foreign direct investment, Belarus Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said at the opening of the forum Broadening the Horizons: Investment, Finance, Development in Minsk on 29 September, BelTA has learned.
“We have a top priority goal to secure quality and prompt transition from currently prevailing foreign credit resources to a full-fledged inflow of foreign direct investment in various areas of the national economy. For this purpose we need to orient our investment policy on concrete investors, understand their expectations and possible fears,” Andrei Kobyakov noted.
In his words, the world is facing unprecedented challenges today. Amid uncertainty and increasing global risks the fight is escalating between the players on the international arena for attracting capital, breakthrough technologies and quality management able to secure maximum return with minimal costs. Belarus is no exception here, he added.
Andrei Kobyakov believes that dialogue with the business community is one of the effective ways to get information necessary for making the right decisions. “Our forum is a bright example of such a dialogue,” the PM stressed.
Minsk is hosting the forum Broadening the Horizons: Investment, Finance, Development on 29-30 September. The event is expected to encourage an open dialogue between representatives of Belarus' government bodies, international financial institutions, foreign investors, the Belarusian authorities, national business and experts in order to discuss current aspects of investment cooperation. The forum aims to draw the attention of potential investors to Belarus as a promising investment platform.
The forum has gathered nearly 300 participants. Experts are discussing strategies for Belarus to attract foreign investment, prospects for investment cooperation with the financial institutions of the EU, the Eurasian Economic Union and China, ways to attract U.S. investors in the implementation of projects, and other issues of current importance. It is expected that a roadmap will be developed to outline the main areas of joint action in improving the institutional environment to expand opportunities for attracting investment and financing, which, in turn, will promote the development of public and private sectors of the Belarusian economy.
