The vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Alexander Stubb, and the prime minister of Belarus, Andrei Kobyakov, took part in the EU-Belarus economic forum in Luxembourg on Friday 27 October together with the European commissioner for neighbourhood policy, Johannes Hahn, and agreed on EIB financing for key infrastructure projects in Belarus, including the upgrade of some connectivity projects between Belarus and its EU neighbours.
The projects include the improvement of international transport corridors, municipal and environmental infrastructure, including water and wastewater, and climate action projects.
The EIB is already involved in appraising the upgrade of a motorway from Minsk to the Lithuanian border, as part of parallel financing with the World Bank.
Other areas of EIB interest include support for the private sector and SMEs, notably through local banks and local industrial groups.
Belarus has been on the list of countries eligible for EIB financing (under its external lending mandate) since November 2016. An agreement on cooperation between EIB and Belarus was signed in May 2017 and ratified by the Belarussian parliament in July, which opened the way for an increased EU and EIB engagement with Belarus. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)