Business news

MINSK, 22 June (BelTA) – Belarus and Switzerland intend to enable as favorable operation terms for private business as possible. Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Guryanov made the statement as he opened the ninth session of the Belarusian-Swiss committee on trade and investments, BelTA has learned.

The Swiss delegation was led by Livia Leu, Head of the Bilateral Economic Relations Division of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland.

Alexander Guryanov pointed out that the bilateral agenda has been dynamically expanding recently. He stressed that during the session they were going to discuss not only matters of bilateral cooperation but also the state of affairs with regard to integration processes as well as the areas where Belarus-Switzerland relations can be made as convenient for the private sector as possible through joint efforts. The Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs added that the sides had an agreement that the governments of both countries would send positive signals to the private sector.

Speaking about trade and economic relations, Alexander Guryanov mentioned that in 2014 Belarus-Switzerland trade doubled to reach $514 million. “It was primarily import from Switzerland. While our export was modest, it rose by virtually 25% in 2014. We are trying to penetrate this highly competitive market in small steps,” said the official.

Belarus works hard to raise Swiss investments. In particular, projects are being successfully implemented in the mechanical engineering industry, glass industry, pharmaceutics, and confectionery industry as well as science and banking. According to Alexander Guryanov, in 2014 Belarus attracted about $152 million in Swiss investments. Direct investments constituted most of the figure. In Belarus there are 105 enterprises with a share of Swiss capital and 39 representations.

Alexander Guryanov remarked that Belarus is an effective user of Switzerland’s export credit programs and is highly ranked in terms of loan repayment.

“During the session we intend to compare our views, find out what interests the sides have, sketch out future plans, and discuss framework conditions for supporting trade and economic relations,” said the Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.