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Belarus, World Bank continue talks on $1-billion loan request, finance minister says

Belarus and the World Bank continue talks on the government's $1-billion loan request, Finance Minister Andrey Kharkavets told reporters in Minsk on April 15.

"The first round of talks is currently under way and it would be premature to draw any conclusions and say what lending sources will be used by the World Bank," Mr. Kharkavets said.

Only the parties’ "interests and positions" have already been discussed, he said. "Only introductory issues are under discussion at present," Mr. Kharkavets said. "All the work lies ahead."

A team of World Bank experts arrived in Belarus on April 7 on a two-week visit to consider the country’s request for a development policy loan.

The experts are expected to meet with government officials, economists and businesspeople, and representatives of other donor organizations.

The Bank offers two basic types of loans: investment loans and development policy loans. The former are given for the support of economic and social development projects, whereas the latter provide quick disbursing finance to support countries’ policy and institutional reforms.

While talking to reporters in January, Pyotr Prakapovich, head of the National Bank of Belarus, said that the government was expecting to obtain a $1-billion loan from the World Bank in April or May.

When reached by BelaPAN a few days later, Iryna Aleynik, a spokesperson for the World Bank office in Minsk, said that it was as yet premature to say anything specific. “It’s true that the World Bank is considering various ways of supporting the Republic of Belarus under the current circumstances, but it is too early to talk about any specific deal, amounts and dates," she said. //BelaPAN