Belarus is expected to elevate status of the Foreign Investment Council and turn it into a more effective institution by changing the council’s patron agency (the council will be controlled by the president, not the government) and by putting in charge of the Council the Prime Minister of Belarus and the head of an international financial institution, which will finance the activities of the Council.
The Ministry of Economy of Belarus made a statement to this effect in an explanatory note for the draft presidential ordinance “On the Foreign Investment Council.”
It is mentioned in the Economy Ministry’s explanatory note that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to finance the activities of the Foreign Investment Council for three years, and will then provide assistance in fundraising. Which is what, they plan to put in charge of the Council an EBRD senior manager (the Economy Ministry does not specify the rank of the manager).
As previously reported, in June 2019 Belarus and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed a memorandum of understanding in part of cooperation to support Belarus’ foreign investment council.
The draft ordinance says that the council will consist of the Belarusian Part, which will include officials responsible for investment raising, and the Foreign Part, which will be represented by the heads of foreign (international) organizations, which are making investments in Belarus or planning to make such investments.
Since the start of its operations in Belarus in 1992, the EBRD has invested over €2.4 billion in 115 projects in various sectors of the country’s economy. In 2016 the EBRD adopted a new strategy for operations in Belarus in 2016-2019. The document abolished the calibrated approach, which restricted EBRD operations with the public sector. Belarus and the EBRD have been implementing a number of projects in utilities industry, energy saving, transport infrastructure and environment protection.
Read more: https://export.by/en/news/belarus-may-elevate-status-of-foreign-investment-council