U.S. Assistance to Belarus

Support to Economic Reform

The United States Government continues to do everything it can to support the private sector in Belarus which is treated by the Belarusian authorities in a highly repressive and arbitrary manner.  Belarus's centralization and command approach to economy has left only a trickle of U.S. Government's and international assistance programs in this field.

Western NIS Enterprise Fund

The Western NIS Enterprise Fund was created to promote private sector development in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. The Fund is managed by a non-governmental Board of Directors and has authority to make equity investments and loans and offer technical assistance to promote new private companies and entrepreneurs, with special emphasis on the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises. The Fund will actively use its U.S. Government funding to seek American and other corporate and financial partners for private sector development in these republics. The Enterprise Fund concept was created in the "Support for Eastern European Democracy Act" of 1989 and was extended to the Freedom Support Act. The U.S. Administration had expressed its intention to establish the Western NIS Enterprise Fund during President Clinton's visit to Belarus in January 1994. Those interested in receiving information on how Belarusian firms can apply for funding may call the Embassy's Commercial Section, or contact the Western NIS Enterprise Fund directly at the following addresses:

7 Kudriavsky Uzviz
2nd floor
254053 Kiev, Ukraine
Telephone: (044) 16-98-41
Fax: (044) 17-14-19

885 Third Avenue
Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022 USA
Telephone: (1) (212) 906-1235
Fax: (1) (212) 751-4864

SABIT Program

The SABIT (Special American Business Internship) program is administered by the U.S. Embassy's Commercial Section. The program places Belarusian business executives and scientists whose research has commercial applications with U.S. firms for periods between one to six months. It aims to provide participants with substantial experience in the workings of a market economy, so that they will return to Belarus with the practical knowledge necessary to contribute to Belarus' economic transformation. Interns should have a minimum of five years' experience in their specialty and a solid working knowledge of English. Interested persons should contact the U.S. Embassy's Commercial Section.

Commercial Section, U.S. Embassy
46 Starovilenskaya St.
Minsk 220002, Belarus
Telephone: +375 17 210-12-83
Fax: +375 17 234-78-53

BISNIS (Business Information Service To NIS)

The U.S. Department of Commerce invites interested Belarusian companies to take advantage of such of its programs as Search for Partners, Trade Opportunity Program (TOP) and the Export Contact List Service. If you are interested in importing goods or equipment, setting up a joint venture, becoming an agent/distributor or establishing another form of cooperation, request a copy of the questionnaire from the Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Minsk and ask for additional instructions. The information you will provide will be published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and distributed to American firms.

Commercial Section, U.S. Embassy
46 Starovilenskaya St.
Minsk 220002, Belarus
Telephone: +375 17 210-12-83
Fax: +375 17 234-78-53

Business Development Committee

The first meeting of the U.S.-Belarusian Business Development Committee was held in July 1995 in Washington. Within the committee where the U.S. is represented by its ambassador to Belarus and high-ranking officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Department of State, the two sides seek ways to facilitate investments by large and smaller American companies doing business in Belarus. The American side has urged the formation of a stable and simplified tax code and progress on industrial privatization. Among issues addressed during the Committee's annual meetings are export control and commercial standards and certification.

American Chamber of Commerce

The American Chamber of Commerce was officially formed in December 1995 by those U.S. and joint ventures with American capital operating in Belarus which expressed wish to collectively pursue the Chamber's purposes. As with all American Chambers of Commerce abroad, these purposes are to promote economic relations between the host country and the United States of America; to strive for constructive solutions to trade problems; to represent and protect the common economic interests of its members; and to collect and provide information on trade, industry, agriculture, technology, taxation and other related topics to its members. The American Chamber of Commerce is open to all commercial legal entities in Belarus with full or partial U.S. ownership. Interested parties should contact the president of Coca-Cola Amatil Belorussiya.

International Finance Corporation

The International Finance Corporation is an international organization and a member of the World Bank Group, operating within the framework of the United Nations Organization. It was established in 1956 to encourage private sector activity in developing countries. IFC achieves this goal by financing private sector projects and providing consulting and technical assistance to governments, drawing on its expansive practical experiencee of working in over 90 countries. At the invitation of the Government of Belarus, and with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), IFC has helped conduct small-scale privatization in Belarus since May 1993. The principal method of small-scale privatization in Belarus is auction, whereby privatization objects are sold through competitive bidding to the highest bidder. As of May 1, 1997, 162 IFC -assisted auctions were held in Belarus, at which 379 communal objects were sold for a total of 117,284, 744,000 Belarusian rubles (9,632,459 USD). In addition to auctions, IFC also helped in implementing the buy-out of 11 leased enterprises which generated another 8,493,768,000 BRB (520,016 USD).

The Central Advisory Unit of IFC's Small Scale Privatization Project in Belarus is located at Partizanskiy Prospekt 6A, 3rd floor, 220033 Minsk
Tel. (017) 228-18-38, 228-17-79, 229-81-66, 229-81-67
Fax (017) 222-74-40, E-mail: pr@ifc.basnet.minsk.by