The World Bank confirms its intention to support Belarus in carrying out structural reforms
26/07/20120 views
On July 26, Minsk /BelTA/. The World Bank confirms its intention to continue assisting Belarus in developing and implementing comprehensive and deep structural reforms. This is stated in a letter from the World Bank's Country Manager for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, Chimiao Fan, to the Prime Minister of Belarus, Mikhail Myasnikovich, BelTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian government.
"The World Bank is ready to continue assisting the government in developing and implementing comprehensive and deep structural reforms to promote competitiveness and sustainable growth in the Republic of Belarus," the letter notes. As a follow-up to the work initiated within the framework of the Country Economic Memorandum, the WB has planned programmatic technical assistance on structural reforms. This will allow for a flexible approach to providing advisory and analytical assistance on specific priority issues of economic policy defined by the Government of Belarus, the bank believes.
The World Bank also confirmed its readiness to assist the National Agency of Investment and Privatisation "in implementing the privatisation program for eight specific medium-sized enterprises to demonstrate the benefits of competitive and open privatisation procedures."
In the fiscal and tax sphere, World Bank experts offer technical assistance on reforming the pension system and social assistance system, improving the efficiency of public spending on healthcare and education, and enhancing intergovernmental fiscal relations and debt management.
Special attention in the letter from Chimiao Fan was paid to Belarus's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In his opinion, Belarus's accession to the WTO "represents a unique opportunity to link reforms with external factors." The World Bank, in turn, is ready to support the Government of Belarus in this important process. "Accession to the WTO will require undertaking a broad range of commitments on economic liberalisation and reducing the role of the state, which in itself will enhance the need for structural reforms. We propose to organise a mission visit to identify specific areas where support will be needed, and we will also discuss with potential donors possible sources of financing for a comprehensive support program," the letter from Chimiao Fan states.
He also responded to the Belarusian government's request for the prompt development of a new Strategy for cooperation between the World Bank and Belarus, promising to discuss this issue at the bank.
The Director of the World Bank department noted the progress in the development of the Belarusian economy achieved over the past half-year. In his opinion, it is now "important to continue macroeconomic stabilization by maintaining a tight monetary and fiscal policy in order to curb inflationary pressures and strengthen the positive trend in restoring the balance of external accounts." Given the significant degree of uncertainty in the external environment, Chiemiao Fan believes that premature easing of macroeconomic policy in Belarus could entail significant risks.
BELTA