Opinions & Interviews

RIGA, 6 November (BelTA) – Belarus can be viewed as an intergrading element in the trade between the states of the European and Eurasian Unions, the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, Scandinavia and the Balkans, Belarus’ Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said at the 5^th summit of the Heads of Government of the Central and Eastern Europe and China (16+1) on 5 November, BelTA has learned.

“It is clear that not only Belarus provides open access to the 180-million-strong market of the Eurasian Economic Union. However, the shortest “logistics shoulder” with the European Union is across Minsk. When we speak about the EEU, we mean the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce, uniform tariffs, equal doing business conditions,” the Prime Minister said.

Andrei Kobyakov also stressed that Belarus offers various preferential terms. Companies may reduce investment costs and tax burden if they locate business within the six free economic zones, the Hi-Tech Park, small and medium-sized cities of Belarus.

“Speaking about Belarus, experts often use the phase “favorable geographic position”. If we take a look at the map of Europe, we will see that Minsk is almost equidistant from the capitals of the neighboring countries both in the East and the West. Although I would say it is equally close to them,” the Belarusian head of government said.