Belarus expects to host ten times as many companies with UK participation, Belarusian Economy Minister Nikolai Snopkov said when speaking at the opening of the Belarus-UK investment forum in London.
“In Belarus there are 268 companies with the British capital. We want to see this figure increase at least 10 times, and all prerequisites are in place for this, “said Nikolai Snopkov.
Nikolai Snopkov said that Belarus and the United Kingdom can boast serious achievements in bilateral cooperation in trade, the creation of joint ventures. “In 2014, the United Kingdom was third in Belarus' exports, with about $2.3 billion. The UK investments in Belarus this year amounted to about $2 billion; about $ 900 million was invested from Belarus in the UK,” noted Nikolai Snopkov. At the same time, he expressed confidence that these figures will be increased substantially.
Nikolai Snopkov also dwelled on the developed transport infrastructure in the country. “This is a major element of the economic space of the country, an essential element of the European transport system and one of the components of the renascent Great Silk Road,” the minister said. According to him, 110 million tonnes of cargo go through Belarus annually. “This is only the 40% capacity. This market segment alone can grow twice,” stated Nikolai Snopkov.