MINSK, 5 March (BelTA) – Plans to raise funds of international financial organizations to finance infrastructure projects in Belarus have been discussed by First Deputy Economy Minister Yuri Chebotar at a meeting of the ministry's collegium, BelTA has learned.
“One of the sources of investment are funds of international financial organizations. Loan agreements worth more than €1 billion were concluded over the last four years alone. These are projects in road reconstruction, energy efficiency, solid waste management, just to name a few. However, cooperation was greatly hampered in 2020. Nevertheless, we managed to raise €190 million from the World Bank for projects in the social sector, including projects to bolster the health system during the pandemic. These funds are used to purchase medical equipment today,” Yuri Chebotar said.
He emphasized that this work will continue. Negotiations are underway to draw resources into infrastructure projects. “We will look for alternative options, first of all, those who are ready to lend a helping hand to Belarus. These are the Eurasian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the OPEC Fund for International Development. Cooperation with other banks is also on the agenda, we will search for ways and opportunities to build a dialogue with them,” he added.
