MINSK, 23 September (BelTA) – The balance of public and private interests and the mutual understanding of government and business is important, Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Minister Aleksei Bogdanov told journalists on 22 September, BelTA has learned.
A good business environment and strong competition are crucial for the domestic economy. As for trade, it is dominated by the private sector. It is necessary to find and maintain a balance between the interests of the government and the private sector. It is important that businesses understand the needs of the government and people. “We manage to find areas of contact and achieve mutual understanding. A vivid example is our agreement with retail chains on a social discount,” Aleksei Bogdanov said.
He noted that the Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Ministry is strengthening price controls. “As we are stepping up control, the number of violations is shrinking. However, these violations still exist. We try to use the principle of ‘soft regulation' or ‘soft law', which means that at first we issue warnings, recommendations. Yet, if there is a repeated violation, we do not hesitate to send the case to court, and a penalty is issued,” he said.
Work on import substitution is in full swing. The Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Ministry analyzes the imports that need to be substituted. “We have a list of such items on our website. Businesses can have a look at it and invest in producing import-substituting goods,” Aleksei Bogdanov noted.
The National Confederation of Entrepreneurship held a business forum “Development of entrepreneurship as one of the most important socio-economic tasks of the Republic of Belarus”. The forum is timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the confederation.
