OREANDA-NEWS. August 10, 2010. Belarus remains committed to further privatization, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said as he met with IMF permanent representative in Belarus Natalia Kolyadina.

The process of turning companies into joint companies is well underway in Belarus now, the Prime Minister said. On March 1 the President issued a resolution on alienating the shares of five companies through a tender. These are Bobruisk engineering plant, VolMET (Volkovysk), Lida casting and mechanical plant, Barkhim (Baranovichi), and Rechitsa Textile company. The sale of these companies will be organized with the participation of advisors from foreign companies. The State Property Committee of Belarus has compiled this list jointly with the IMF. A tender to sell the state-owned shares of theses companies is due in September or October.

Belarus has been actively working with foreign investors, according to Sergei Sidorsky. Foreign partners are pleased that the economy of Belarus is on the rise. “We had the GDP growth at 6% in H1. I think the end of the year will be even better. At least the Government counts on it to secure a higher growth rate in the next five-year term,” he stressed.

Speaking about the cooperation of Belarus with the IMF, the Prime Minister noted that in the difficult year of 2009 Belarus and the IMF carried out a stand-by arrangement. “We tried to do everything possible to maximize the liberalization of the economy,” Sergei Sidorsky said. Belarus in partnership with the IMF created the Investment and Privatization Agency and addressed other issues regarding the financial and economic development of the country.

For her part, IMF permanent representative in Belarus Natalia Kolyadina stressed: “I am happy that you are satisfied with what has been done within the framework of the IMF arrangement. I think that a lot has been done.”

According to Natalia Kolyadina it is important “not to lose what has been achieved under the program. On the contrary, there is a need to make sure that the Belarusian economy should expand at a higher pace to maintain the macroeconomic stability.”