MOGILEV, 19 January (BelTA) - Belarus gains new Eastern partners through participation in the SCO and BRICS, and this is priority number one for the country, Professor Natalya Makovskaya, Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of the Mogilev State Kuleshov University, Doctor of Economics told BelTA as she commented on the new opportunities that the SCO and BRICS participation strategies offer Belarus.
“The Republic of Belarus has not had much experience of participation in such global integration associations, although our country was considered a significant player in the EAEU,” Natalya Makovskaya said. “It is important that through participation in BRICS and SCO Belarus gets new Eastern partners - China, Africa, other countries. The moment of Eastern partnership through these integration associations is priority number one.
The expert stressed that Belarus, like other countries of the post-Soviet bloc, used to be oriented towards Europe and the World Trade Organization. However, there were their own economic measures and requirements, such as the quality management system. It was these measures that determined the possibility of trade in the European markets: if the goods met the requirements dictated by the WTO, they would be admitted. Everything changed when Belarus' started its participation in the SCO and BRICS.
“When we were freed from the economic shackles and WTO requirements, we got our hands untied and there was an opportunity to enter other markets,” she emphasized. “Therefore, BRICS and SCO are the gateways to the Eastern and other markets. Thus, we get new markets, new partners and, most importantly, freer requirements to our goods and products. Besides, the markets of the countries that are members of the SCO and BRICS are global, huge and do not compare to Western markets. Although the latter are also important, as this is an economic vector of good-neighborliness with Western partners.”
According to Natalya Makovskaya, participation in the SCO and BRICS also has a social, political and image value for Belarus, as our country becomes a significant political player on the world map with a full-fledged voice. This is already a certain political status.
For the SCO and BRICS countries, the accession of Belarus is also significant and important, because the country has significant geopolitical advantages and strategic opportunities. “Belarus has always had a geopolitical orientation (it has developed geographically and historically),” the expert explained. “Thus, all transportation arteries pass through our country: both air and land corridors. In addition, in the economic and political context, Belarus is a transit and connecting East-West link, and therefore our country is always the initiator of political processes of peacemaking between East and West countries.”
Such a peacekeeping position is politically weighty both for the SCO and BRICS, as well as for Europe. “Belarus is on the border with Europe, and they are also interested in us, because this strip of neutrality is important for the West, among others,” she concluded.
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