OREANDA-NEWS. February 13, 2008. Belarusian industrialists and entrepreneurs are in favour of stepping up the dialogue with business circles of European Union countries, BelTA learnt from Anatoly Kharlap, President of the Union of Non-Profit Organizations “Confederation of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers)”.

He noted, the importance of this cooperation avenue was stressed by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko during his speech before students of the Belarusian State University on February 12. “Now our country is in talks on the accession to the WTO. We are also intent on establishing new investment ties in Europe, expanding cooperation, working out new innovation projects. There is one such project already, it involves information technologies,” noted Anatoly Kharlap.

In his words, positive negotiations with business representatives of the European Union states is in progress with a view to considering the suspension of the Generalised System of Tariff Preferences against Belarus.

The Confederation of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) has lately signed an agreement on cooperation with the Polish Confederation of Employers. The document will allow launching the implementation of mutually beneficial joint projects.

Ties with Latvian business are being developed. Latvian businessmen intend to take part in Belarus’ state programme for the development of small and medium urban communities, to set up joint ventures in Belarus. “The cost of the planned projects is estimated at tens of millions of euros,” said the official. Apart from that, negotiations are underway to use Belarusian money to set up a terminal for shipping petroleum products in Latvia. Efforts are exercised to build up the assembly production of MAZ trucks in Latvia. A wagon production project is being discussed.

Anatoly Kharlap underscored, the Confederation of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) intends to expand contacts with employer associations in many EU countries and holds talks with them. These contacts display the real interest of the European business in cooperation with Belarus.