OREANDA-NEWS. January 23, 2007. It is necessary that Belarus should cut back on its cargo escort services 2-3 times from the present level, Vice Premier Andrei Kobyakov told reporters after a meeting of the Board of the State Customs Committee, reported the Official website www.government.by.

According to him, it is a complicated issue, in which a lot depends on what goods are escorted and on whether transporters are financially sound to ensure the conveyance of goods. “But we think that this process needs being streamlined and the amount of escort services needs to be reduced at least 2-3 times,” he said. These measures are expected to make Belarus more attractive as a transit country and to bring the rules and regulations applied in Belarus in this field in conformity with those applied in other countries.

In 2007, Belarusian customs service transferred over Br9 trillion to the national budget, Andrei Kobyakov said. In 2008, more attention should be paid to improving customs procedures, speeding up the process of introducing electronic declaration and one-stop-shop practices. All these efforts will help make Belarus more attractive as a transit country, the Vice Premier said.