VIENNA, 24 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian government is working hard to improve the investment climate in the country, Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Vasily Matyushevsky told BelTA on the sidelines of the Belarusian-European Investment Forum.
“We are continuously working on this (to improve the investment climate – BelTA's note). We wish the progress were faster. However, we understand that it is we who compete for investors and investments, not vice versa,” Vasily Matyushevsky pointed out. He believes it is important to take a proactive position and set clear terms that should stay the same at least in the foreseeable future.
Vasily Matyushevsky noted that investment climate is affected by many factors. “Some of them cannot be measured in figures. For example, how can we manage expectations? The question may seem strange, but the behavior of every investor is motivated by expectations. And we should shape these expectations,” the Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
He believes that the lifting of sanctions was an important step on the way towards shaping positive expectations. “Today's forum is a good sign. We have established a dialogue, which means that we have started shaping positive expectations,” Vasily Matyushevsky said.
The Vienna Forum: Promoting EU Investments in Belarus is running in the Austrian capital. The event has been organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and in accordance with the instructions of Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov. All in all, the event is attended by over 120 people. The interests of the European business community are represented at the forum by Austrian companies and by businessmen from Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Latvia, Hungary, and Slovakia. The forum is attended by President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Christoph Leitl, representatives of the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Eurochambers.
