OREANDA-NEWS. On December 02, 2008 President Alexander Lukashenko met with Chairman of the Board of Sberbank of Russia German Gref, reported the Official website http://president.gov.by.

Alexander Lukashenko has expressed Belarus’ interest in cooperation with Russia’s Sberbank. “We are interested in attracting resources from the Russian Federation, from the Central Bank of Russia, so long as you have a direct connection with them, especially during this period of the world financial crisis when we are searching for additional resources to sustain the national currency and finance our economy,” the Head of State said to Mr German Gref. According to the Belarusian President, the financial crisis has not had a huge impact on the Belarusian stock and foreign currency markets. However, Belarusian exporters do face certain difficulties caused by a decline in demand for goods on international markets.

German Gref for his part said that Russia’s Sberbank was intent on coming to Belarus as a strategic partner. “In terms of its size today, Sberbank is too big for the market of any one country,” he said. According to him, the Sberbank Supervisory Board has approved the Bank’s development concept for the next five years, which implies Sberbank’s going ahead with proactive cooperation initiatives in the international arena. Three CIS countries have been chosen as priority directions in international contacts. These are Ukraine , Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Sberbank is now considering the prospects of purchasing an active bank in Belarus, or opening a new one. In the near future Sberbank will team up with the National Bank of Belarus to identify the ways of entering the Belarusian market. Mr German Gref expressed conviction that the sides would manage to reach points of agreement on this issue and find mutually beneficial terms. Sberbank’s strategy for Belarus spans for a minimum period of 10 to 20 years.

The President approved Sberbank’s plans regarding its presence in the Belarusian market. “There are absolutely no obstacles to the work of your bank in Belarus,” said Alexander Lukashenko.