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Lukashenka suggests creating most favorable conditions for investors

It is necessary to make a more active effort to draw foreign investment into Belarus, create the most favorable conditions for potential investors and not to put bureaucratic obstacles, Alyaksandr Lukashenka suggested at Thursday’s government conference, according to the presidential press office.

“Government officials always tried to persuade me that it is impossible to live without foreign investment and we seriously got down to this issue,” the Belarusian leader quoted by BelaPAN as saying. “For the time being, we have to acknowledge that the situation regarding foreign direct investment in the national economy does not give rise to optimism.”

Mr. Lukashenka noted that in 2009, foreign direct investment totaled $420 million, or 38 percent less than the previous year. This decrease should not be blamed only on the global investment recession, he said. “Another reason lies in the irresponsibility of certain officials and their unwillingness and inability to work efficiently,” he said. “I spontaneously come to this conclusion when I see increasingly more potential foreign investors directly approaching the president. They appear to have lost hope for their pressing issues to be resolved by those who are supposed to do that due to their position.”

Mr. Lukashenka also pointed out that the government should not indiscriminately accept any and all investment offers. The government should propose projects for investment by itself and these projects should meet the tasks confronting the state, he suggested.

According to the head of state, the government should prioritize investment in the energy sector and the processing of the natural resources in which the country is rich. “Forests occupy 35 percent of the territory of Belarus, but timber is often lost, although it could have been processed,” he said, adding that this also holds true for Belarusian drinking water.