REPUBLIC OF Opportunities for business cooperation Справочное издание Подписано в печать 14.12.2009. Формат 60х90/8 Бумага мелованная. Печать офсетная. Республика Беларусь. возможности делового сотрудничества Усл.-печ. л. 4,5. Уч.-изд. л. 4,6. На английском языке Издательство ЗАО «Юнипак». ЛИ № 02330/0150278 от 03.05.2008 Типография ИП «Альтиора – живые краски». ЛП № 02330/0150479 от 25.02.2009 Ответственный за выпуск В. Л. Дубовский Тираж 1500. Заказ 7153 Редактор С. А. Ищенко ISBN 978-985-6802-37-2 Перевод на английский Т. А. Горбель Компьютерная подготовка: М. Ш. Валиев, М. И. Лазук, О. Н. Павлова © Министерство иностранных дел Республики Беларусь, 2009 Фото: В. Л. Дубовский (обложка), из архива ЗАО «Юнипак» © Оформление. ЗАО «Юнипак», 2009 REPUBLIC OF BELARUS Opportunities for business cooperation MAIN ADVANTAGES...... 4 Transport...... 18 HISTORY. PEOPLE. STATE...... 6 LOGISTICS...... 20 CONTENTS INTEGRATION THROUGH ECONOMY...... 8 TIMBER INDUSTRY ...... 22 BEST CONDITIONS FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS...... 10 Banking and Finance...... 24 DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES...... 12 Information Technologies...... 26 REGIONS ...... 14 Telecommunications ...... 28 AGRICULTURAL COMPLEX...... 16 Science...... 30 MAIN ADVANTAGES

Belarus is the most dynamically developing country on post-Soviet territory.

All regions have conditions favourable for the best start of your business. Legislative protection of the rights of foreign investors and preferential Geographical centre of Europe on the crossroads of West-East, North- taxation. Sole country in the CIS with an Investments Code. South. Longest border line with the (Lithuania, Latvia, There exist six free economic zones (Brest, , Gomel, Grodno, ). , Mogilev) and High Technologies Park – free-tax havens New opportunities opening thanks to EU program “Eastern Partnership” for investors. with participation of , , Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Belarus belongs to the group of countries with the highest human potential . development index. It has a numerous middle class and presence Free entrance to capacious Eurasian market, participation in Customs of highly educated, disciplined labor force employed Union with and Kazakhstan. in modern industries. Political, economic, social stability. Safe living, security. Low corruption Developed and various industrial, scientific, modern infrastructure with high level. level of information technologies. Fourth place in the world among the top reforming countries in respect Two pan-European transport corridors. Broad transport network. to business doing legislation improvement according to the Doing Business Low operational costs in the country capital Minsk and, specifically, 2010 report of the International Financial Corporation and World Bank. across the regions.

4 5 HISTORY. PEOPLE. STATE

Belarus is an independent state in Europe, a country with unique nature, millennia-long history, rich culture and vast opportunities for development.

Belarus ranks 13th in Europe for its territory area (207.6 thousand sq. km.). The capital is Minsk with population exceeding 1.8 million people. It’s just slightly smaller than Great Britain, , almost twice as large as Main religions: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism. There are also Portugal, Hungary and almost five times bigger than the Netherlands. Islam and Judaism followers. Country length from north to south is 560 km and from east to west – People of Belarus are hard-working, committed, patriotic, tolerant, patient 650 km. Distance from capital Minsk to Warsaw is 550 km, Moscow – 700 km, and persistent. Kiev – 579 km, Vilnius – 185 km, Berlin – 1140 km, Stockholm – 1419 km. Traditions and features of the national character were formed Populated by more than 9.670 million people (as of early 2009) and repre- in the course of complex history. The country was engulfed by many sented by over 100 nationalities. military conflicts, World Wars, national liberation revolts, revolutions The Republic of Belarus is a unitary democratic social and constitution- and repressions. al state. The supreme representative and legislative authority is bicameral The first convention of the RSDWP took place in Minsk in 1898. This party National Assembly. The President is a leader of the State. The supreme execu- later transformed into the Communist Bolshevist Party and in 1917 orga- tive authority is the Council of Ministers. nized a revolution in Russia. More than 2270 non-governmental and non-profit public organizations are The USSR and Soviet power collapse was initiated in 1991 in Viskuli registered including political parties, professional unions, creative unions, on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha – the oldest natural reserve sports societies and other. on the territory of Belarus and Europe. Administratively, the country is divided into six regions (their centers – Minsk, The common historic past with Europe gave rise to traditions dating Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev) which include 118 districts. 110 towns back to the Middle Ages, Magdeburg rights which many towns are located on their territory including 15 cities with population exceeding 100 used to have and to the code of local laws – Statute of the Great Duchy thousand persons, 103 urban villages. of Lithuania.

6 7 INTEGRATION THROUGH ECONOMY

Belarus is deeply integrated into international economy.

Export orientation of Belarusian production, which amounts to 60% of The negative balance of international sale was first of all caused by prices GDP and is constantly growing indicates openness of the economy. In 2008 increase for imported energy sources and raw materials. To rectify the im- export of products amounted to USD 32.6 bn. Belarusian products are ex- balance, there is a growth in services exports. In 2008, it amounted to USD ported to 139 countries. 4.26 bn and exceeded services import for USD 1.7 bn. Major consumers of goods and services abroad – Russia, CIS countries, EU From the start of 2000, Belarus demonstrates active improvement of invest- and, in recent years, countries of Asia, America and Africa. ment climate as an element of economic liberalization. It’s mentioned in the As of 1 January 2009, there existed over 4880 companies in Belarus studies of the World Bank, Heritage Foundation, UNCTAD, IFC and others. with participation of investors from over 90 countries. Joint ventures were In 2007, Belarus was assigned a sovereign credit rating by Standard & organized with German concern MAN (manufacturing of ), Carl Zeiss Poor’s. (production of optic goods). Among success stories are such foreign compa- In 2009, the agency re-confirmed long-term foreign and national currency nies as Coca-Cola Beverages Belorussia (production ratings of Belarus “B+” and “BB” correspondingly. of beverages), Restaurants McDonalds (catering), Chess-Bel (oil products For a second year in a row Belarus belongs to the top 10 countries-leaders, processing), Unomedical (production of disposable medical items), Freze- most active reformers of business activities regulation. nius (manufacturing of medical equipment), Mobilkom Austria Group (tele- As a result, the recent years have recorded a 2-3 times growth of invest- communications) and others. ments over GDP growth rate, with a share of capital investments perma- Import of goods in 2008 reached USD 39.4 bn. nently exceeding 25%.

8 9 BEST CONDITIONS FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

Companies and commercial enterprises with foreign investments have certain advantages. Belarus is the right country to embark on ambi- tious projects.

For the past 5 years the inward foreign investments in the country for commercial companies except for banks and other non-bank financial organizations. amounted to USD 19.3 bn. Of those, the direct investments accounted Registration is performed on the same day when necessary documents are presented. for USD 5.7 bn, of them the worth of USD 2.3 bn received in 2008. Company liquidation procedure is simplified. Most appealing to the foreign investors were heavy industry (42.9% • For the state registration of a legal person it is only necessary to submit of the total volume of investments in 2008), trade and catering (8.5%), an application, charter and duty payment confirmation. transportation (6.3%), communications (4.1%), building (1.6%). • The country operates “One Stop Shop” for the investor. The capital investments focused, in the first place, on electronics, ma- • The Investment Code of the Republic of Belarus was adopted in 2001. chine building, petrochemical complex, timber processing, manufacturing • Belarus concluded agreements about mutual protection of investments with almost of consumer goods and food, processing of secondary raw materials and all major countries-donors. manufacturing of medical equipment. • Capital fully protected from nationalization and confiscation. Projects are being realized jointly with foreign investors at Mogilevkhim- • Profit repatriation ensured. volokno, Belarusian Brewery Siabar. • Unregulated pricing for new products. Such companies as Lukoil, Slavneft, Sistema, Itera-Group, Gazprom, Gaz- • For all new manufacturing companies in towns populated by less than 50 thousand prombank, MTS, Zepter International, Raiffeisen Bank, Heineken N. V. and there is a regime equivalent to free economic zone for 5 years period. others are among the biggest foreign investors. • Land is provided for rental without bids or auction at a fixed rate. The banking system is of big interest for investors. • Customs payments and VAT cancelled for equipment imported for investment Most important conditions for making investments in Belarus: projects. • Starting from 1 February 2009, the declaration-based registration was introduced • Possibility to start the construction of a new facility simultaneously with its designing.

10 11 DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

Belarus is one of the economically developed countries of Eastern Europe, CIS. In its new- est history it makes confident steps forward – modernizes production facilities, increases industrial and scientific potential.

GDP growth rate in 2008 was 110% compared to the previous year or USD microbiological industry, timber and timber processing, industry of building 60.3 bn. materials. For the past five years (2004-2008) GDP would grow by an average Belarus manufactures trucks, tractors, agricultural machines, , trol- of 9.9%. The IMF estimates that GDP per capita adjusted by Purchasing leybuses, trams, machines, lasers, complex radio-electronics and devices, Power Parity reached USD 12,291.4 in 2008, close to that of, say, Bulgaria televisions, computers, watches, artificial diamonds, motorcycles, bicycles, and Romania. fridges, washing machines, electrical and gas cookers, medicines. The robust economic growth is underpinned by environment-friendly re- The key enterprises are Belarusian Automobile Plant (BelAZ), Minsk Wheel source- and energy-saving technologies, enhanced competitive features. Tractor Plant (MZKT), Minsk Bearing Plant, (MAZ), Structurally, economy is dominated by industrial sectors numbering as manufacturing both Euro-3 /4-complying trucks and Euro-5-complying many as more than 100. Over 20 thousand enterprises and productions prototypes. operate in Belarus. Only 10% of them produce over 60% of industrial BelAZ is among seven leading world manufacturers of quarry trucks and products. accounts for over 30% of the world market of quarry dump trucks. High level of production concentration is inherent to fuel industry, ferrous is among eight largest tractor manufacturers metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industry where three biggest enter- in the world and exports its products to over 60 countries. prises account for over 60% of all industrial output. The Republic of Belarus is a major producer of potash fertilizers the world Central to the Belarusian industry are metalwork, chemical and pet- over. Belaruskalyi has 14% of the world output and approximately 16% rochemical sectors, power industry, light and food industry, medical and of the world export of potash fertilizers.

12 13 REGIONS

Stable economic growth is increasingly encour- aged by fast development of regions.

Many large enterprises are located in regions. Belarusian Automobile Plant • Purchase of vehicles irrespective of the purpose. (BelAZ) is located in Zhodino, oil refinery plants in Mozyr, Novopolotsk, Other preferences existing across the FEZs include: Belarusian Steel Works in Zhlobin. • Exemption from import customs duties and VAT for the goods imported A host of investment opportunities are offered by the free economic zones: for own production provided that the finished products “Brest”, “Vitebsk”, “Gomel-Raton”, “Grodnoinvest”, “Minsk” and “Mogilev”. shall be exported; Approximately 270 companies are registered and operate there. • Same taxes and duties paid by residents for 7 years starting A uniform special legal regime (taxation and customs) is established for all from 1 April 2008; residents and subject to no change for 7 years from the registration date. • Preferential terms of rental payment for land plots provided for projects. The FEZs provide the following advantages for investors: Small towns (with population less than 50 thousand) and rural areas have The FEZ administrations now have more powers to register residents plan- also become an attractive spot for inward investments. In terms of invest- ning to realize projects with investment value exceeding Euro 1 mln. ment conditions and preferences, they virtually do not differ from free eco- The income tax is set at 50% of the rate established for other territories. nomic zones. Income tax exemption if companies sell products and services they pro- For example, a starting selling price for the unused state property to a po- duced within 5 years. tential investor in rural areas or in urban villages is one base unit (USD 12.3 VAT halved where Belarus-produced import-substituting goods and services as of 01/09/2009). are sold in Belarus. The unused state property may even be assigned for gratuitous use Taxable income base reduced for inward investments in the Republic or ownership. of Belarus. The procedures and conditions in the building industry have become FEZ residents are exempted from the following taxes levied on: simpler, which allows to shorten the period of construction. All builders have • Fixed Assets Property (unfinished construction objects), located on the territory the right to attract state resources when constructing property for people in of FEZ and vehicles irrespective of their use; need of better living conditions.

14 15 AGRICULTURAL COMPLEX

The agricultural complex has substantial potential and fully ensures food security of the country.

Both large commodity complexes and smaller farms function in the At the same time large complexes and small plants in the regions are being agricultural sector. The National Program for the Rural Revival modernized. The technologies, methods of production, sanitary standards, and Development for 2005-2010 provides enough support for the agricul- variety of products and package, design are well adjusted towards European tural sector and reconstruction and technical retooling of agricultural pro- and world standards and traditions. cessing companies. The renowned brands in the industry are Savushkin product (Brest), Ba- Milk, pork and beef, chicken meat and eggs, grain, potato, flax, sugar beet, bushkina krinka (Mogilev). Verhnedvinsky Maslosyrzavod became the first vegetables and fruits are successfully produced on an industrial scale in plant in Belarus awarded a compliance certificate to EU quality and product Belarus. safety requirements in 2009. Belarus is among seven top potato producers in the world and ranks No. 1 One of the most promising areas for investments into the agricultural sec- for its output per capita and No. 4 in Europe for milk output per capita. tor is the creation of logistics centers. It is planned to build an “A” class Belarus produces more milk and meat per capita than any other center with over 20 thousand sq. m. of the total area of warehouse facilities CIS country. on the territory of Zhdanovichi agricultural complex near Minsk. Unload- Belarus keeps up with domestic demand in milk and meat and also exports ing and acceptance of deliveries shall be performed there, products shall be them in high volumes. Belarusian milk accounted for 75-80 % of the total properly stored, processed, registered, monitored, shipped and delivered to Russian imports of the same produce in 2009. the customer.

16 17 Transport

Belarus has a wide network of motor roads, railways and airways.

Highways running through the country are an important element Most terminals perform freight delivery, using the railway-owned road of the European transport system. Major oil and gas pipelines run from vehicles, under the scheme “railway station – customer’s warehouse” Russia to Western Europe through Belarus, key customs posts, warehouses or the other way around. The largest terminals provide a full range and terminals are located on the territory. of customer services, including railway deliveries, road supplies and cus- Main international transport corridors span 1520 km: toms clearance. N2 – Berlin – Warsaw – Minsk – Moscow International air routes extending for 5000 km run through the air space N9 – Russia – Finland border – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Vitebsk – Gomel of Belarus – from Western Europe to the East and South-East Asia, and further through Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria to Greece. from Scandinavia to the South and Mediterranean. The motor roads network encompasses over 86 thousand km. Its density Belarusian Belavia, Transaviaexport, Gomelavia provide regular air service is 413 km per 1000 sq. km. of the total area. to the CIS countries and others. Belavia ensures approximately 90% of all Belarusian sections of the transport corridors based on their average annual passenger traffic. Among its partners are such companies as Aeroflot daily traffic volume are loaded only for 25-40% of their real capacity. (Russia), Lufthansa (Germany), LOT (Poland), Austrian Airlines – over 30 Broader economic connections with the neighboring countries, growing companies in total. transit and logistic services, better road service will lead to more efficient The largest airports are located in the capital: Minsk-1 and Minsk-2. road use. This is a good area for investments. The total length of gas pipelines is over 6900 km and of oil pipelines – Approximately 85% of all freight in the country is ensured by railway. 3000 km. Railway spans 5.5 thousand km. Major transshipment facilities are located Approximately 80% of transit freight going through Belarus are either bound at Brest railway junction sending deliveries to over 70 countries. for Russia or back from Russia towards elsewhere.

18 19 LOGISTICS

A new industry has started to develop fast in Belarus - it’s logistics. The reasons are transit location of the country and its integration through fast growing economy with the CIS and EU countries.

A growing interest in the building of transport and logistics centers in the center for the sale of potatoes and vegetables in Kopyl district or in Stolbtsy country was just a prediction of the experts a few years back. But today with 20 tons terminal capacity. several projects are put to work. The creation of Customs Union between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan By 2012 it is planned to start operation of a Grodno-based transport and announced in November 2009 shall give massive impetus to the building logistics centre. The project is being implemented by foreign company West- of logistics centers. namus-Logistic in the “Grodnoinvest” FEZ, under the National Program for Partner Logistics of Russia created a joint venture in Belarus to provide the development of transport and logistics network. services to Russian and Belarusian companies. Bringing all types of controls The Grodno center will provide storage, customs clearance, batching to the outer borders of the Customs Union i.e. to the Belarusian border with and forwarding, using motor and railway transport. It’s also planned the European Union makes it economically reasonable to set up large logis- to reload freights from narrow-gauge (European) railway to full-gauge rail- tics centers. Even today over 400 customs representatives operate in Be- way and the other way round when transporting goods from Europe larus, while in Russia only 200. to Russia, Kazakhstan and back. Chairman of the Eastern Committee of German Economy Klaus Mangold It is also planned to carry out a similar project in Brest with participation highlighted opportunities for this industry at the 22nd Minsk Forum held in of OKD Doprava, a.s.(Czech Republic). November 2009: Belarus is a country with huge prospects. He emphasized Italian businessmen discussed the creation of a transport and logistics cen- high logistical importance of the country with an industrial base in nu- ter in Vitebsk with the senior executives of the Vitebsk airport. merous sectors that is better than in other countries of Central and Eastern For the first time in Belarus, it is also planned to create a trade and logistics Europe.

20 21 TIMBER INDUSTRY

The timber complex of the country includes forestry branches and manufacturing facilities, timber processing and pulp-and-paper industries.

Available natural resources dictate the high potential of this complex. in Belarus and abroad: Molodechnomebel, holding company Pinskdrev, Forests occupy approximately 38% of the territory of Belarus (over 9.3 mln Bobruiskmebel, Minskproektmebel, Slonimmebel. hectares). The total timber capacity of the country is 1.4 bn cubic m., Belorusskie oboi and Gomeloboi Joint-Stock Companies produce wallpapers. with its per capita ratio in excess of the world average by 2.2 times. Svetlogorsk Pulp-and-Cardboard Plant is the largest manufacturer of card- The percentage of valuable wood species (pine, birch and spruce) is circa board and related packaging. 85% of the total. The Program for the Creation of New Manufacturing Facilities and Mo- The production volume of merchantable wood is approximately 15 mil- dernization of the Current Facilities will introduce new capacities lion cubic meters per year. It completely satisfies needs of the local timber at Ivatsevichdrev, Mostovdrev, FanDok with volume 410,000 cubic meters processing plants and allows sufficient exports. per year of particle boards. Retchitsadrev production facility Over 2.8 thousand timber processing enterprises produce a wide range will be modernised. of products: furniture, plywood, wood boards, parquet, millwork, paper, Technical retooling of Spartak Paper Factory will allow the production paper and cardboard packaging, wallpaper. of high-quality paper for sanitary and hygienic purposes and related goods. The industry is dominated by the enterprises of Bellesbumprom concern Once the country’s oldest Dobrush Paper Factory is modernized, the output in terms of production volumes. is expected to grow by 40% and boost the exports to 80% of the surplus. 23 enterprises specialize in furniture manufacturing. Among them, there Approximately 40% of furniture manufactured in 2009 was exported, rough- are large and well-equipped companies, whose brands are widely known ly 50% of the figure to Russia and 15% to the EU countries.

22 23 BankING AND FinancE

The bank system of the Republic of Belarus has shown its stability and attracts investors even during the crisis time.

The monetary system operates according to the Bank Code of the Repub- The “crisis year” turned out to be successful even for the new players lic of Belarus. The national currency which is has been in of the financial market. existence from 1992 and in 1994 it was proclaimed the unique legal means Following the first year of operation, Alfa-Bank sits at No. 1 among other of payment. The State guarantees full safety of individuals’ deposits in the Belarusian banks for its credit portfolio growth and No. 3 for its capital Belarus-based banks. The two–tier bank system includes the National Bank, growth. other banks and nonbanking financial institutions. During the Belarusian The economic program currently implemented based on the stand-by Investment and Economic Forum held on 12-13 November 2009 it was credit agreement was positively assessed by the IMF. noted that the financial market showed no slow down but rather a robust A major state-run bank Belarusbank occupies the 17th place among the growth amid the crisis. leading banks of Central and Eastern Europe and 600th place among 1000 The financial system turned out to be rather marketable and competitive. major world banks according to The Banker. During the first half of 2010 31 banks operate in the country. This number includes 25 banks with for- it is planned to invite a consultant from one of the leading world companies eign capital, 8 of them have 100% foreign capital and 12 – more than 50 % in order to make arrangements for the sale of the Belarusbank minority foreign capital. shares. 8 foreign bank branches were set up, coming from Russia, Germany, Lat- The privatization of Belarusian banks run by the Government including via, Lithuania, and also an Inter-Governmental Bank. the control stake sale of BPS-Bank and Belinvestbank, Foreign loans amount to USD 3 billion in the bank resources. and also minority share sale of Belarusbank and Belagroprombank, which is During the period of January – October 2009, the national bank system planned for the nearest feature, will permit to increase efficiency and posted a 20 % profit increase compared to the same period of the last ear.y ensure stable performance not only of those banks but also of other banks The bad assets constitute about 3.5 %. in Belarus.

24 25 Information TechnologIES

The considerable IT potential accumulated in Belarus was most successfully put to practice in recent years.

Belarus has been facing a challenging task of becoming an active player The resident companies of the Park have for three consecutive years in the world-wide IT market in the shortest terms possible. It has been been on the list of the largest software developers and providers achieved due to the large number of well-qualified human resources, devel- Software 500 published by the influential international IT source Software oped IT infrastructure, low-cost technologies, high level of IT services, and Magazine. The Park resident companies EPAM Systems and SaM Solutions accessibility of the Internet. occupied the 180th and the 357th positions respectively in the rating. About 15000 specialists have been employed in the IT export segment. This list also featured the Belarusian company IBA Group (254th rating), Belarusian companies such as EPAM Systems, IBA, SaM Solutions, BEL- two subsidiaries of which – ITPark and IBA-Gomel-Park – are residents SOFT-BORLAS GROUP, ScienceSoft, and others are involved in the projects of the Park. for British Telecom, T-Mobile, Cingular/AT&T, BlueCross BlueShield, Reuters, In order to boost IT development and attract investments, the High Tech- London Stock Exchange, AeroMexico, William Hill, SAP, Microsoft, Hyperion, nologies Park resident companies are granted a number of incentives. BEA Systems, Colgate, Samsung, IBM, Siemens, Alcatel, and other interna- They are exempt from: tional clients. • the income tax; Belarus has succeeded in creating the High Technologies Park. Its activities • the value added tax; have been focusing on ICT and software development and implementation • the property tax in Belarusian industries and other areas, as well as exporting such products. • the land tax for the period of facilities construction, not exceeding three years; The Park is also planning more engagement in 12 high-technology • customs fees and the value added tax while importing goods necessary spheres, from micro- and nanoelectronic materials to air- and spacecraft. for registered operations; The Park has 78 registered resident companies, which employ over 6000 • other mandatory payments to the Republican budget. specialists.

26 27 Tele- communications

Belarus has been the leader among the other CIS countries in the mobile phone network and Internet access.

In November 2009 Minsk hosted the summit “Let Us Make the CIS Area tions development. This was when Velcom started offering the GSM-format Connected”. It focused on the development of modern communications and communication services. Since that time this company has invested $ 600 attracted the attention of representatives of the UN, the World Bank, the Eu- mln in the country’s economy, and it is the country’s 13th biggest taxpayer. ropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the top management In 2008 the company showed the biggest increase in the number of users - of international IT companies, including Microsoft Corporation. The summit by 600000, or by 20.9 per cent. Hannes Armstreiter, the CEO of Velcom’s was visited by Secretary General of the International Telecommunications shareholder Telekom Austria Group, shares his impression of the coopera- Union Hamadoun Touré, as well as presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyr- tion: “It is apparent now that the decision to expand in Belarus was cor- gyzstan, and Tajikistan. rect, and yielded long-term aims. There aren’t that many markets in Europe President of Belarus briefed the guests on the IT policy: “The whole coun- showing such dynamics of development like we see here. Each country has try is covered by the optic fiber network. Broadband Internet is being devel- its own rules of business, and here I’d like to point out stability. This is a oped. Modern data processing centers have been established in the capital, big advantage, especially in this turbulent period. We’ll continue investing as well as in regional centers”, he said. in technology development, implement latest developments, and earn new Particular attention has been paid to ensuring immediate access to IT users”. services in regional towns and villages. The National Program for the Rural The whole territory of the country is covered by mobile communica- Revival and Development has been adopted and is developing the telecom- tion services provided by four operators – Velcom, MTS, Life, and BelCel. munications subsector in the framework of the action-oriented program The total number of mobile telecommunications users has exceeded the “Electronic Belarus”. number of the country’s population. This sector of Belarusian economy has examples of successful foreign invest- The landline communication is provided by the republican unitary enterprise ments to offer. Beltelecom, which offers services not only in the cities and towns, but also April the 16th, 1999 became the landmark of the country’s telecommunica- in 98 per cent of the countryside.

28 29 Science

The country has a wide range of scientific and technical developments in various spheres of theoretical and practical sciences.

There are 340 scientific-research, industrial, experimental, technological Belarus is one of the few countries which possess nanoelectronic materials. and other organizations operating in the country. The National Academy of Sciences has partners in 70 countries, the world The biggest scientific and industrial organization is theNational Academy over. of Sciences of Belarus. The total volume of its output in 2008 Belarusian scientists cooperate with the UN (UNIDO), World Bank, IAEA, was USD 375 million. The capital investments were estimated at USD UNDP, and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 85 million. In the framework of the Central European Initiative at the National There are 508 Doctors of Science and 1872 Candidates of Science among Academy of Sciences a centre for studying laser physics and non-linear more than 6000 researchers. optics was set up. There are more than 16 thousand research works of Belarusian researchers Under the 7th Framework Program our country established a robust published in the most prestigious data base “Web of Science” from 1995 relationship with the European Commission. to 2008. Their works are being used by foreign scientists more that ten More than 31 thousand employees of scientific organizations are involved in times a day. research and development. There are 19 thousand researchers, 744 Doctors There are twenty-one brand-new projects implemented in cooperation with of Science and 3.1 thousand Candidates of Science. France. Germany was involved into twenty one new projects, while Poland – Under the National Program for Innovative Development of the Republic in 18 and Great Britain – in 5 absolutely new projects. of Belarus 2007- 2010 it is planned to create 187 new enterprises The most interesting projects are as follows: and manufacturing facilities on the basis of operating organizations. • Project to build a plant for production of light-emitting diodes (jointly with Philips) New technologies will be put in operation at 436 existing • New hydrogen generator for heating elements (together with the French company companies. Air Liquide); Together with direct funding of science there are targeted credit, • Detonation pulse engines to spacecraft (General Electric); finance, tax, investment, customs and antitrust policies being now imple- • Project to fight chemical threats (together with NATO); mented. Special funds are established. Research and Development spend- • Project to develop unique space mission equipment. ings are expected to grow 2.5-3 times in the next five years.

30 31 Information sources: 1. Правовые основы деятельности иностранных инвесторов / Ministry of Economy of the Rep. of Belarus. – Minsk, 2009. – 136 p. 2. Путеводитель для иностранного инвестора в Республике Беларусь / Ministry of Economy of the Rep. of Belarus. – Minsk, 2009. – 70 p. 3. Экономико-инвестиционный обзор. Республика Беларусь – 2009 / Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rep. Belarus, Ministry of Economy of the Rep. of Belarus. – Minsk : Unipack», 2009. – 32 p. 4. Private enterprise in Belarus / United nations development programme. – Minsk : Unipack, 2009. – 24 p. 5. Investments in Belarus are safe and profitable / The National Academy ofs ciences of Belarus, 2009. – 20 p.

For further information please contact: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus (www.mfa.gov.by) Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus (http://w3.economy.gov.by/ministry/economy/nsf) National Committee of Statistics of the Republic of Belarus (http://www.belstat.gov.by) www.sb.by www.belmarket.by