MINSK, 15 July (BelTA) – The development of small and medium entrepreneurship was discussed during the seventh round of the informal dialogue of economy ministers of the Eastern Partnership Initiative countries, the press service of the Belarusian Economy Ministry told BelTA.
The seventh round of the informal dialogue of economy ministers of the Eastern Partnership Initiative countries took place in Kiev on 12 July. The event was dedicated to discussing the development of small and medium private business. Belarus was represented by Deputy Economy Minister Irina Kostevich.
BelTA has been told that the Belarusian Deputy Economy Minister presented a report on the state and prospects of developing small and medium private business in Belarus. “At present small and medium business accounts for one third of country's tax revenues,” Irina Kostevich noted during the meeting. In her speech she also mentioned the main tasks that need to be accomplished to develop small and medium entrepreneurship in Belarus till 2020. The tasks include the introduction of a system to evaluate the regulatory impact of laws and regulations on the private sector, the introduction of tax consultants as an institution, the establishment of an institution to protect rights of private businessmen, the establishment of guarantee funds, the enabling of simpler access to long-term loans, and the provision of state support to small and medium private companies.
Participants of the event also discussed matters concerning the introduction of the renewed European Neighborhood Policy, ways to bolster the effectiveness of the Eastern Partnership Initiative, and progress in the key areas of cooperation that were agreed during the summit in Riga.
European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elzbieta Bienkowska and European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn took part in the informal ministerial dialogue.
