The European Investment Bank (EIB) is considering a possibility to open its office in Belarus, EIB Vice President Vazil Hudak told reporters following his meeting with Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 5 August.
The proposal about the office had been put forward by the Belarusian Economy Ministry. “We are grateful to the state and the government of Belarus for this proposal. However, opening an office is not an easy thing; it needs a lot of consideration. We do not have offices in all the countries where we operate; therefore we need to take into consideration the Bank’s general policy of expanding its network of offices. However, if we look at the dynamics of relations with Belarus and if we look ahead (we believe we will invest in Belarus €200-300 million at the minimum every year), this matter is worth considering and the Bank’s top executives will work on it this year,” Vazil Hudak said.
Vazil Hudak welcomed vibrant and fruitful cooperation with Belarus. Over the recent 1.5 years alone, the EIB has provided €335 million to implement projects in Belarus. By the end of this year the amount might increase to €500 million. “Our dynamic and robust engagement is underpinned by two factors. First, Belarus is attractive to investors. It boasts political and economic stability; here investors can be rest assured that their investment is safe. Second, Belarus is the European Union’s key partner in the Eastern Partnership initiative. The country is also important from the point of view of promotion of European interests in this region. Belarus’ role as a bridge between Asia, the East, Russia and Europe is crucial,” he said. One of the joint projects implemented by the EIB and Belarus is providing loans to Belagroprombank and Belarusbank to promote small and medium-size enterprises. The €75 million provided in 2018 has been utilized by now. Additional funds are under consideration.
“We expect the following tranches – about €80 million or more – in 2019. This type of engagement holds a lot of promise, as evidenced by the loans that were granted to Belarus via the biggest state-owned banks. The demand for this money is big, therefore we will keep it up,” Vazil Hudak assured. The European Investment Bank is one of the world’s largest multilateral investment banks.
Founded in 1958, the bank is headquartered in Luxembourg. The equity capital is formed by 28 countries, the European Union members. About 90% of the EIB projects are implemented within the EU, 10% outside its borders. The European Investment Bank signed the first agreements with Belarus in 2018. Those were the €50 million loan agreement to support small and medium enterprises with Belagroprombank and the €25 million loan agreement with Belarusbank, and the €84 million loan agreement to rehabilitate and modernize the Minsk wastewater treatment plant. In July 2019, another two agreements were signed. They provide for financing the project to improve the efficiency and quality of utility services (€66 million) and the project to upgrade the Motorway M7 Minsk-Oshmyany-Lithuanian border with subsequent renovation of the Kamenny Log road checkpoint (€110 million).
