Belarus’ Economy Minister outlines country’s economic development avenues

Belarus has been experiencing sanctions pressure for the second year – as noted by Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov at the Union State: Economic Integration – Development Tasks Russian-Belarusian expert-media forum

Last year, Belarus managed to withstand all the restrictions. Mr. Chervyakov explained, “When we learnt of a volume of sanctions in February, we had to reformat our plans under those conditions in order to resist an unprecedented pressure. Against this background, an absolutely new agenda is coming to the fore within the framework of the Union State. On the one hand, there are problems but, on the other hand, huge opportunities are available. The two states have united, we are forming an economy, and here is the main potential which we should actively develop.”

In this regard, Mr. Chervyakov identified four main avenues of co-operation with other countries that should be primarily paid attention to, “Firstly, it is the redirection of export flows. We have markets in China, India, Russia, and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Community. Secondly, it is transport logistics: we need to decide how we will transfer cargoes so that transport corridors can service the entire flow. The third direction is related to import substitution, and this is extremely important for Belarus. We enjoy a huge potential for economic development here. The fourth aspect deals with finances. Experts are now paying special attention to the financial ecosystem, and its independence is at the heart of it.”

The Union State: Economic Integration – Development Tasks forum started yesterday – gathering heads of ministries, departments and regions of the two countries, as well as experts and media representatives. The participants discussed measures to strengthen co-operation between Russia and Belarus and to increase economic independence of the Union State.