Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 30 July (BelTA) – Belarus is very highly spoken of by German investors from the point of view of political stability. The statement was made by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Belarus Wolfram Maas at the presentation of the poll Business Climate in Belarus 2014 on 30 July, BelTA has learned.

The diplomat remarked that representatives of German companies singled out the factor of political stability in the country as they evaluated quality factors of Belarus’ business climate in 2014.

The annual poll about the state of the business climate in Belarus has been conducted by the Representation of the German Economy in Minsk. It was the third poll conducted since 2012. Such polls have been conducted by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and the German Chambers of Commerce (AHK) in Central and Eastern Europe for 20 years already. The polls contribute to information exchange between the enterprises that operate in these regions, noted the Ambassador.

Polls are designed to provide a comparative analysis of conditions for pursuing economic, foreign economic and investment activities in various countries on the basis of evaluations made by enterprises regardless of macroeconomic figures and official statistics data. Wolfram Maas said that thanks to the polls potential investors, who consider a country as a possible economic or investment partner, can get a fuller and straighter understanding about business operation terms in the country taking into account the opinions and evaluations of the polled German companies that operate in the region.

According to the Ambassador, the poll does not claim to be comprehensive, yet the results provide interesting economic data. “Results of the business climate poll are of great importance for Belarus-Germany bilateral cooperation,” he specified. The diplomat also remarked that Germany is already an important partner for Belarus and the trade and economic relations, in which investments play a major role, constantly develop.

German companies are absolutely autonomous in shaping their views on a foreign economy and are self-reliant in making investment decisions. “The government doesn’t practice interference with economic operations of companies. They are free to make decisions about which country they should invest their money in. With this background in mind, business climate polls are of great interest since an increase in investments from Germany to Belarus would be very mutually beneficial,” stressed the Ambassador. Led by Vladimir Avgustinsky, the Representation of the German Economy works hard to attract German investments.

Wolfram Maas also pointed out that while results of business climate polls in other countries, including in Belarus, fail to be widely covered by German periodical press, they are still of great interest for industry mass media and this kind of evaluation of a business climate is very seriously accepted by the German society.

The Ambassador remarked that Belarus has gone up in comparison with other countries in accordance with the evaluation of the business climate by German companies. Yet he said he believes that in order to maintain its competitive edge, Belarus should put more efforts into this work. He went on saying: “I wish you success in these endeavors”.