OREANDA-NEWS. The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Suma Chakrabarti, has assured that the EBRD is ready to finance more projects to develop the private sector in Belarus and support efforts of the Belarusian government to raise the private business share in the GDP up to 50% by 2017.

The EBRD President made a statement to this effect, while conversing with Belarus’ Economy Minister Nikolai Snopkov, who is deputy chief of Belarus’ delegation to the EBRD, at the annual meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors in Istanbul on May 9, 2013.

During the meeting the parties appreciated the fact that EBRD transactions in Belarus have been on the rise over the last three years. For instance, in Q2 2013 the EBRD approved a USD 14.5 million loan for the joint venture set up by the Swiss company Stadler Rail AG and Minsk Region Administration in the town of Fanipol to manufacture passenger trains, trams, and trolleybuses.

The EBRD also takes part in financing the second stage in the construction of a woodworking factory in the town of Smorgon by Austria’s Kronospan and provides lending support to several other private business projects in Belarus.

Snopkov and Chakrabarti discussed the prospects of advancing Belarus-EBRD cooperation and possibilities of the EBRD strategy for Belarus for 2013-2015, which was approved in March 2015.

As previously reported, the EBRD plans to limit its activities in Belarus in 2013-2016 solely to the support of the private sector, while curtailing cooperation with state-owned companies.

As reported by the Economy Ministry, on May 10 Snopkov held a meeting with World Bank Director for Strategy and Operations Laura Tuck to discuss the WB partnership strategy for Belarus for the 2014-2017 financial years. The strategy will be forwarded for approval to the WB Board in June 2013.

Within the framework of the business forum held on May 11 in Istanbul as part of the annual meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors, Belarus held an investment session to present the investment potential of the Industrial Park. There were around 60 representatives of European financial institutions in attendance at the session.