MINSK, 13 March (BelTA) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will lend €50 million to OAO Belinvestbank as a subordinated loan. The possibility was discussed as First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky met with top executives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on 13 March, the press service of the Belarusian government told BelTA.
The delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was led by EBRD First Vice President Philip Bennett.
The meeting focused on topical aspects of Belarus' cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Close attention was paid to the implementation of infrastructure projects in various spheres. Vasily Matyushevsky said he was confident that it is possible to demonstrate examples of successful joint work in the public sector. Philip Bennett said: “The project for Belinvestbank's pre-privatization is an exemplary one. I would like to mention the importance of implementing all the sketched out plans. The government persistently takes measures to implement the memorandum of understanding. We have already done a lot to transfer some of the assets relating to the crediting of government programs. Hard work is in progress to transfer the remaining part of the assets. Work is in progress to provide a subordinated loan as large as €50 million to Belinvestbank.”
Speaking about cooperation for providing pre-privatization services for state-run enterprises, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky stressed it is necessary to objectively and productively evaluate the results. “I would like to emphasize that joint work on pre-privatization indicates the strong trust of the Belarusian government in the EBRD. Persistency, strategic dedication, and avoidance of hasty decisions, which may damage the ongoing work, are particularly important in this situation,” said Vasily Matyushevsky.
The official noted that annual meetings with top EBRD executives had already become a tradition. In his words, the agreements reached during the visits of EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti and EBRD Vice President Alain Pilloux have given good dynamics to the advancement of Belarus-EBRD relations. Vasily Matyushevsky stressed: “Summing up results of our work, one can state that the EBRD has invested about €2 billion in Belarus since the very start. Nearly half of the sum was invested when the EBRD's strategy for 2013-2015 was being implemented although the strategy was ‘calibrated' and introduced certain restrictions in the bank's work. Now after a new strategy for 2016-2019 has been approved and the calibrated approach is no longer around, the EBRD's capabilities will be considerably increased.”
