Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 23 September (BelTA) – Belarus expects that the number of projects jointly implemented with the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) will increase, Belarusian Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky said as he met with a delegation of the NEFCO Board of Directors headed by Managing Director Magnus Rystedt on 23 September, BelTA has learned.

“We have studied the list of projects that have already been carried out in Belarus with NEFCO’s financial support. We hope that our fruitful cooperation will continue and the number of projects will increase. I should emphasize that the Belarusian government is interested in closer cooperation with NEFCO,” Vladimir Zinovsky noted.

Attending the meeting also were Belarusian First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Iya Malkina, Deputy Housing and Utilities Minister Gennady Trubilo, and representatives of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. NEFCO’s delegation comprised representatives of the government agencies of Denmark, Island, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

The participants of the meeting discussed the implementation of joint projects and the opportunities for expanding the bilateral cooperation in light of the framework agreement between Belarus and NEFCO that has come into force. “The event ushered in a new stage of our cooperation. The document will help us intensify cooperation in tackling environmental challenges and provide Belarus will additional opportunities for attracting loans from NEFCO and other international financial institutions,” Vladimir Zinovsky stressed. He added that the priority areas include water supply and removal, “clean production”, environmental protection, energy efficiency, and provision of consulting services.

The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) is an international finance institution established in 1990 by the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. NEFCO provides loans and makes capital investments in order to generate positive environmental effects of interest to the Nordic region. It finances a wide range of environmental projects in Central and Eastern European countries, including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. NEFCO's activities are focused on projects that achieve cost-effective environmental benefits across the region. The portfolio of the financial institution currently comprises nearly 400 small and medium-sized projects spread across different sectors.

Full-scale cooperation between Belarus and NEFCO began when the framework agreement was signed in London on 20 January 2015. The document was inked by Vladimir Zinovsky and Magnus Rystedt and took effect on 11 August.