15 June, Minsk /Lilia Krapivina - BELTA/. The law on support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Belarus is designed to attract small businesses to participate in state programs. This was stated today by Deputy Minister of Economy Andrei Tur, presenting the draft of this law, according to a BELTA correspondent. The bill on support for small and medium-sized enterprises was approved today by the Council of the Republic. It defines the fundamental goals and principles of state policy in the sphere of support for small and medium-sized enterprises. The law is aimed at creating favorable conditions for the development of private initiative and will contribute to expanding the role of entrepreneurship in the processes of creating infrastructure entities, business councils, associations, and unions that provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises. As Andrei Tur noted, the bill provides a clear definition of small and medium-sized enterprises. It is important that the category of "medium-sized enterprises" is now appearing in the republic, the Deputy Minister emphasized. Furthermore, a feature of the bill is that it is proposed to reserve at least 10% of the total volume of orders for state needs for small and medium-sized enterprises as suppliers, performers, and contractors. Thus, the participation of entrepreneurs in state orders, as well as in the implementation of state programs, will become an important aspect of their support, the Deputy Minister of Economy noted. He also stated that this law "has had a rather difficult fate, and work on it has been ongoing for several years." However, with the adoption of the legislative act, work in this direction will not cease. Andrei Tur announced the development of draft Directive No. 4, which will further develop a number of proposals that are enshrined in the law as general provisions. At the same time, he stressed that with the adoption of Directive No. 4, the law will not become obsolete; "the directive will provide a broader understanding of the mechanisms and directions enshrined in this law." According to Andrei Tur's assessment, the law is largely political and ideological in nature, and it will have a long life.-0-

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