Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya with a policy statement in Davos
On 19 January, the National leader and Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus presented her vision for the future development of the Belarusian economy and business in Davos. The main points from her speech:
"Belarus will always be part of the European economy. When democratic changes take place in our country, the countries of the European Economic Area will become our main partners in trade and investment."
"We are not afraid of the economic challenges that a new democratic Belarus will face. We already know what to do to overcome them:
We will have to work hard to remove sanctions from Belarus.
We will start reforms to liberalize, to stimulate the private sector and green economy, and to attract foreign investments.
We will seek to liberalize foreign trade by signing free trade agreements with key partners, including the EU.
Many state owned enterprises will be privatized, some will undergo major changes in management.
We will launch deep institutional reforms, including judicial reform, education reform and public administration reform.
"I urge the authorities of other countries to welcome Belarusian entrepreneurs. International companies hire Belarusians as employees. I call for help in solving the key problems of Belarusian business. There are at least three of them:
Problems with obtaining visas and residence permits for both Belarusian entrepreneurs and employees and their families
Difficulties in opening and maintaining bank accounts
Difficult access to finance and investment opportunities due to a lack of credit history.
"I urge you to cut all ties with businesses and people loyal to the Lukashenko regime and instead to establish relationships with honest businesses in democratic Belarus."