OFFICIAL REPORT BELARUS sustainable economic growth OFFICIAL REPORT PUBLISHED BY FIRST HE ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS We’re expanding internationally, to serve you globally. At FRANSABANK, we’re expanding our network so that we can be right by your side wherever you choose to go, providing you, as always, with the best banking services. OFFICIAL REPORT BELARUS sustainable economic growth Offi cial Report published by FIRST to mark the Belarusian Investment Forum and the visit of HE Sergei Sidorsky, Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Published by FIRST, 56 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4RN Tel: +44 20 7389 9650 Fax: +44 20 7389 9644 Email: [email protected] Web: www.firstmagazine.com Chairman and Founder Rupert Goodman Chairman, Advisory Council Rt Hon Lord Hurd of Westwell CH CBE PC Chief Operating Officer Eamonn Daly, Consultant, Public Affairs Sir Patrick Cormack FSA MP Non-Executive Directors Timothy Bunting, Hon Alexander Hambro, Executive Publisher and Editor Alastair Harris Head of Corporate Business Andrew Tweedie, Regional Publisher Declan Hartnett, Production Manager Helen Fordham, Marketing Administrator Chris Cammack, PA - Chairman’s Office Hilary Winstanly Editorial Consultant Jonathan Gregson, Secretariat Gil Pearson, Design Consultant Stanley Glazer, Senior Staff Writer Nicholas Lyne Award Advisory Panel Rt Hon Lord Woolf of Barnes, Lord Dahrendorf KBE, Rt Hon Lord Howe of Aberavon CH QC, Hon Philip Lader, Lord Plant of Highfield, Chief Emeka Anyaoku GCVO TC CFR, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Sir Robert Wilson KCMG, Dr Daniel Vasella, Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, Morris Tabaksblat KBE, Ratan Tata and Howard Schultz. Special Adviser, China, Lord Powell of Bayswater KCMG, Special Adviser, Russia Sir Andrew Wood GCMG Special Adviser, Latin America Jacques Arnold, Special Adviser, International Emily Kendall Special Adviser, Global Issues Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas CMG OBE, New Business Advisers Charles Meyer, Amy Easterbrook FIRST MAGAZINE IS COMPOSED OF THE OPINIONS AND IDEAS OF LEADING BUSINESS AND POLITICAL FIGURES. ALL INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS VERIFIED TO THE BEST OF THE AUTHORS’ AND PUBLISHERS’ ABILITY, BUT NO RESPONSIBILITY CAN BE ACCEPTED FOR LOSS ARISING FROM DECISIONS BASED ON THIS MATERIAL. WHERE OPINION IS EXPRESSED, IT IS THAT OF THE AUTHORS. © FIRST 2008 FIRST MAGAZINE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE ASSISTANCE OF HE ALEKSANDR MIKHNEVICH, AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE STAFF OF THE EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS COVER IMAGE, HE ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS, PROVIDED BY ANDREI STASEVICH FIRST BELARUS t is right to welcome the visit active the flow of trade and investment, to this country of the Prime the stronger will be the chance of a Minister of Belarus, Mr fruitful meeting of minds. I Sergei Sidorsky. From this point of view it is good We are glad to see him here where news that, for the time being at least, he will see our political system in there has been a relaxation of the action and interact with it, and we will European Union rules about visits enjoy our discussions. The European from Belarus. I hope that circumstances Union is a group of twenty-seven will be right for this relaxation to be democratic states whose systems are sustained and extended. Belarus has based on the principles of free market shown that it is determined to pursue economics, free elections and the its own foreign policy independent open expression of views. of others. It has achieved in recent We all believe that these are years a remarkable level of economic natural and sound foundations for any growth and possesses a highly Introduction by European country. But this does not skilled workforce. This report shows The Rt Hon Lord Hurd mean that we presume to impose out how these assets can be married to of Westwell ch cbe pc of our own experience the pace or form corresponding qualities in Europe, of political or economic development which should make possible Chairman, FIRST in Belarus. On the contrary, the closer increased trade and investment to Advisory Council the contacts and in particular the more the advantage of all sides. F 3 FIRST Glassworks Neman since 1883 The followers of masters from the famous Diatkovo factory. J. Stolle and V. Kraevski organised the production of glass on the picturesque bank of the river Neman. OJSC NEMAN Glassworks is an enterprise with 125-years story and traditions Types of production: • manual production of 24% lead crystal articles, clear and colored soda-lime glass articles; • mechanised production of clear soda-lime articles by two machine lines; • production of individual boxes of corrugated cardboard; • construction of a modern furnace for melting of lead crystal; • production of glass package (bottles, jars) since 2010; • glass wool production since 2009. OJSC «NEMAN Glassworks» 8 Korzuk str., 231306 Beresovka, Lida district, Grodno region, Republic of Belarus • Website: www.neman.by BELARUS ear Participants and Our government guarantees the Visitors to the Forum, protection of investments, free I am extremely pleased disposal of profits, high quality Dthat we have succeeded service, comfortable and safe in attracting such an authoritative conditions for investors staying business audience to this event. We in our country. The energy, consider your participation to be transport, transit and tourist evidence of the increasing interest by infrastructure, the introduction foreign business in our country, and of new technologies into industry we will support this interest. and agriculture are our absolute The speed at which our economy priorities and the most profitable and revenues have grown during sectors for investing capital. recent years, our stable internal I am convinced that the Forum situation, our dynamic improvements will be a starting point for a whole to the investment climate, our range of projects that will attract Message from convenient geographic position, investors, develop the Belarusian HE Alexander Lukashenko our huge scientific, industrial and economy and improve the welfare President of the human potential – these are just a of its citizens. few of the features that characterise I wish you a fruitful, constructive Republic of Belarus modern Belarus. and interesting time together. F 5 FIRST BELARUS An investor-friendly economy BY HE DR SERGEI SIDORSKY PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS would like to thank you for giving me the us to open up our economy and adopt an active opportunity to appear in the pages of this special foreign economic policy. The priority given to the edition of the authoritative FIRST publication, development of foreign trade and exports constitutes which is dedicated to the Republic of Belarus. the primary strategic aim of our economic policy for IThe Belarusian economy and the economic policy the foreseeable future. we have adopted to date are subject to intense We now have stable foreign trade relations with 180 scrutiny by the World Bank, the International countries on every continent, and 60 per cent of our GDP Monetary Fund and other global and European is connected to foreign markets in one way or another. As research economic institutions. a consequence we have a high degree of dependence on Belarus overcame the systemic crisis that followed global development trends. DR SERGEI SIDORSKY the disintegration of the USSR, on its own. When it The Belarusian economy traditionally had close ties graduated from the was the ‘workshop’ of the Soviet Union, the Republic’s to the economy of the Russian Federation. In the year Belarusian Institute of economy was predominantly industrial and was 2000 the Russian market accounted for over 50 per cent Railway Engineers in characterised by large-scale industrial conglomerates of our exports. But even the most stable relations may the faculty of electrical and mechanical engineering enterprises, oil refining, change over time. We currently export 36.6 per cent of engineering in 1976. In heavy metal, and chemical industries and other our manufacturing output to the Russian Federation, 2001 he became Deputy industrial sectors. In the critical years of the 1990s we and 43.8 per cent to countries in the European Union. Prime Minister of the preserved this industrial base for the national interest, The volume of foreign trade with the United Kingdom Republic of Belarus. From and it now constitutes the foundation of the Belarusian amounted to US$960.9 million in the first half of 2008. 2002-03 he was First economy, and is attracting increasing interest from The United Kingdom occupies seventh place among our Deputy Prime Minister, potential investors from around the world. main trading partners worldwide, and more importantly, then Acting Prime It is of primary importance for the government it continues to grow. Minister. In 2003 he was to devise an economic strategy to encourage further Mechanical engineering and metalworking are the appointed Prime Minister development and define the goals of the state apparatus strategic resources in our foreign trade activity. The of the Republic of Belarus. that are based on socialist principles. Our primary goal Belarusian mechanical engineering conglomerate He is an academician is to raise the living standard and quality of life of our has over 40 sectors, and accounts for around 20 per of the International citizens, and we are implementing an economic model cent of GDP. Tractors and agricultural mechanical Engineering Academy and with a socially oriented market economy as part of our engineering occupy the leading position and are more is an expert in vacuum- overall plan. export oriented than the other sectors. In recent years plasma technologies. He During the relatively brief period – in historical terms new, modern technology has been used to mass produce has written more than 40 – of the autonomous development of our country we cars and modern ‘MAZ’ coaches, energy-saving ‘MTZ’ scientific publications and have adopted a complex range of economic and social tractors with 250-300 horsepower, ‘BelAZ’ dumper monographs.