Russia’s investments in the republic leave much to be desired – Kommersant

Russia is the largest investor in the economy of Belarus, and the republic itself ranks third in the CIS in terms of investments from Russia after Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. However, the qualitative characteristics of Russian investments “leave much to be desired.” This was announced by Belarusian Prime Minister Alexei Golovchenko following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin.

“The share of participation of Russian investors in capital is only 2% of the total volume of direct investment from Russia, and in the structure of foreign direct investment the share of debt instruments is increasing and the share of reinvestment is decreasing,” he said (quoted from website Government of Russia). Mr. Golovchenko proposed increasing investment in projects in the field of tourism and health improvement. Belarus, he added, is very popular among Russian tourists.

In the past 2023, according to the Belarusian Prime Minister, more than 1.1 million Russians visited hotels and sanatoriums in the country. This number would be even higher if not for the shortage of placements. This problem could be solved by Russian investors, Mr. Golovchenko concluded.

Mikhail Mishustin and Alexey Golovchenko held I’ll meet today, April 15th. Politicians discussed strengthening integration between both countries. As a result of the negotiations, the prime ministers will sign an agreement on the mutual recognition of digital signatures and an agreement on the joint production of a multi-purpose aircraft.

Last week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko visited Russia on an official visit. He held talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and discussed with him the development of cooperation between both countries.

Read more about Mr. Lukashenko’s visit in the material “At the border, corpses walk gloomily”.

Evgeny Belousov