European businesses have expressed a strong interest in investing in Belarus, Vasil Matsyushewski, first deputy prime minister, said in Minsk on Friday, speaking at a joint meeting of both parliamentary chambers.
Mr. Matsyushewski said that potential European investors' interest in Belarus had been growing since the abolition of the European Union's sanctions against the country. "Moreover, business circles played an active role in the abolition of the Belarus sanctions," he said.
Speaking about the results of a Belarusian-EU investment forum held in Vienna earlier this week, the deputy prime minister said that Belarusian government officials had met with potential investors, some of whom were interested in the manufacture of building materials in Belarus.
"We need to create attractive conditions for investors and rules of the game that would remain unchanged for a long time," he said.
Asked whether authorities might consider introducing a capital amnesty program, Mr. Matsyushewski said that the matter was not topical for Belarus. Such a step would not make sense as a very small amount of capital has been taken out of a country, he explained.
Offering guarantees to foreign investors that the conditions of doing business in Belarus will remain attractive is a much more important task, said Mr. Matsyushewski. "We need to convince investors that our government can guarantee that attractive conditions will remain unchanged," he said. "The matter of investors' trust in authorities is very important."
