English

German companies want more active cooperation with Belarusian small businesses, ambassador says

German companies are interested to cooperate with Belarusian small businesses more actively, Germany's new ambassador, Wolfram Maas, said in Minsk on Wednesday, speaking during a series of events collectively named Day of German Economy.

Mr. Maas said that encouraging economic cooperation between the two countries would be one of his key priorities, and that German companies were ready to share their experience and expertise with Belarusian business owners.

Belarusian Deputy Economy Minister Anton Kudasaw noted that German companies were "pulling Europe out of a difficult economic situation."

Through cooperation with Germany, Belarus could finally start full-fledged cooperation with the European Union, he said.

Mr. Kudasaw noted that the establishment of the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia and its Common Economic Zone was important for economic partnership between Belarus and Germany. "We believe that it is small and medium-sized businesses that should use the potential of integration entities, including the EU," he said.

There are great opportunities for German companies in Belarus, considering that it is part of the larger market of the Customs Union, Mr. Kudasaw said.

He said that the potential of the Common Economic Zone required some exploration and invited German businesspeople to evaluate new opportunities in Belarus. //BelaPAN