MINSK, 29 April (BelTA) – Belarus can get assistance from outside lenders to the total tune of $2-2.5 billion to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus, Belarus' First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Krutoi said in an interview to the Belarus 1 TV channel on 26 April, BelTA has learned.
Belarus is currently in talks with international organizations, the World Bank, the IMF, the Development Bank of China, the European Investment Bank, governments of certain countries with a view to get financial support to recover from the coronavirus epidemic.
“We are working on a weekly basis in an attempt to attract resources, to unload the budget, to support the sustainability of our public debt and the possibility of refinancing it in the amounts we planned earlier this year. If we talk about the negotiations with the IMF, it is about $900 million within our quota. We are negotiating some $300 million with the World Bank and another $300 million with the European Investment Bank. In total we will be able to attract about $2-2.5 billion from external creditors. These will be very good figures,” said Dmitry Krutoi.
The first deputy prime minister added that Belarus' GDP is about Br130 billion. “The whole package of support, both direct and indirect, is about Br5-6 billion. This is 3-4% of the annual GDP. I believe it is an acceptable figure,” he said. As the situation develops, tactical adjustments are possible and the amount may increase.
