On February 13, Minsk / Vladimir Matveev - BELTA /. Belarus expects to expand cooperation with Vnesheconombank. This was stated today at a meeting with the Chairman of the State Corporation "Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)" Vladimir Dmitriev by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA correspondent reports. "Belarus is not a foreign land for your organisation. I am grateful to you for everything you have done in Belarus, and I do not think you can reproach any of us, the government, for not fulfilling our commitments in terms of our agreements," Alexander Lukashenko noted. He recalled that at one time a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the bank and the government of Belarus. "I know that we strictly adhere to this document," the head of state stressed. "We view our cooperation with your bank in the context of Belarus's cooperation with Russia. These are such powerful driving belts," Alexander Lukashenko remarked. "Therefore, your visit today, I think, will give a new impetus to the development of our cooperation." The President assured Vladimir Dmitriev that Belarus will continue to be a good partner for Vnesheconombank. "I welcome your attempts and your desire to expand cooperation with Belarus and to move your activities here in a larger volume. We will support this in every way. We have never had any claims against your bank and we expect broader cooperation," Alexander Lukashenko stated. In addition, the President stressed that the Belarusian side in this case is not asking for any unpromising projects. "We would like you to choose the projects yourself that you want to cooperate with us on," said the Belarusian leader. In turn, Vladimir Dmitriev noted that he sees no problems in the issue of developing cooperation with Belarus. "We need to move forward. The field for joint activities is huge. Of course, there are also large-scale projects," said the head of Vnesheconombank. According to him, during the period of the agreement with the government of Belarus, the capital base of Belvnesheconombank has sharply increased. "In total, we have invested about $1 billion in equivalent through Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital, through credit lines, in Belvnesheconombank," Vladimir Dmitriev added. -0-

BELTA