It is the first time that Belarus has organized its own section. National Agency of Investment and Privatization represented the Republic of Belarus and its investment opportunities.
The section “Belarus: new perspectives for strategic investments. Privatization, pharmaceuticals, the Common Economic Space“ was moderated by Mirko Cvetkovic, the adviser and former Prime-Minister of Serbia.
Mirko Cvetkovic
The discussion was carried out by Michelle Contini, the EuroRTB Director; Anton Kudasov, Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Reznikov, the “Medplast” Director; Olga Rutkovskaya, Head of Privatization Department of the State Institution “National Agency of Investment and Privatization” and Pavel Lashchenko, the managing partner of Ernst & Young Belarus.
from left: Michelle Contini, Anton Kudasov, Mirko Cvetkovic, Olga Rutkovskaya
Mirko Cvetkovic opened the section, delivered his opening speech and identified the key topics for discussion. Within the frame of the section the potential of the Republic of Belarus as a member of the Common Economic Space (CES) was presented, and special interest was paid to pilot privatization project.
The investment potential of the Republic of Belarus, its competitive advantages as a member of CES, positive and negative sides of the business environment in Belarus and the Agency’s experience of pilot privatization implementation supported by the World Bank were also highlighted at the section.
So Ms. Rutkovskaya gave the presentation “Pilot Privatization Project”, Mr. Kudasov – “Belarus: Welcome to Discover”, and another presentation “Doing business in Belarus: SWOT view from EY” was given by Mr. Lashchenko .
Mr. Contini in his turn described the possibilities of business projects development and their further implementation in the Republic of Belarus, citing his personal experience.
Michelle Contini
Speakers then were asked questions by the media (news agencies Bloomberg (U.S. office), “Nasha Niva”) regarding the prospects for privatization in the country and the possible impact on the investment image of Belarus caused by the arrest of the head of Uralkali (Russia).
Ms. Rutkovskaya for an answer to the first question provided the additional list of companies which in the long view would be considered as subjects to privatization.
For an answer to the second question Mr. Kudasov stated that the Uralkali situation can only have a positive impact on the investment attractiveness of the Republic of Belarus, as an evidence of the fact that legally everybody are equal in the country, regardless of the positions, statuses, and other.
Special interest to the investment potential of the Republic of Belarus is paid by Polish businessmen. Thus, the Chairman of the “Eastern Club” C.Chosek expressed his willingness to visit Belarus with a group of Polish businessmen in October this year for more detailed consideration of the presented opportunities.
More than 60 people were present at the section, the majority of them were members of the business community from different countries.
For reference: The Economic Forum in Krynica, organized regularly since 1991, is a recognized event in Central and Eastern Europe. Its mission is to foster favorable climate for development of political and economic cooperation between the European Union and neighboring states. Each year the Forum is visited by more than 2500 guests – political, economic and social leaders – and 500 journalists from nearly 60 countries of Europe, Asia and America. It is the biggest event of this type in Central and Eastern Europe.