For the past ten years the Bank’s activities in Belarus have been limited by the country’s slow progress in democratic and market transition. Previous Country Strategies have drawn attention to inconsistencies in Belarus’ commitment to, and application of, principles of multi-party democracy, pluralism and market economics in accordance with Article 1 of the Agreement Establishing the Bank. During the last two-year Strategy period there has been no improvement in the political environment while some progress in the economic sphere has been seen in the area of macroeconomic management. In some aspects of democratic governance there has been significant backtracking.

As a result of the difficult conditions still present in Belarus, the Bank will continue to concentrate its operations in the private sector where its investments can have the greatest potential transition impact. The Bank will maintain the three alternative scenarios as a graduated response to domestic circumstances, referred to as a Baseline, an Intermediate and a Regular Scenario. This approach is consistent with that adopted in previous Strategies. As in the past, the Bank will remain ready to expand its operations outside the private sector, should domestic circumstances in Belarus allow. This Strategy identifies clear, measurable, political and economic benchmarks that the Bank will monitor regularly and specifies the operational response that could follow in the event of significant progress.