Belarus set to borrow 1.5 bln rubles from Russia in 2024-2025 for import substitution projects - Finance Ministry

MINSK. Nov 1 (Interfax) - Belarus plans to borrow 1.5 billion rubles from Russia in 2024-2025 for import substitution projects, Belarusian Finance Minister Yury Seliverstov said.

"We are continuing earlier projects with Russian partners. The main idea is integration projects with a total value of around 1.5 billion rubles for a series of import substitution projects. We have borrowed about 300 million rubles so far," Seliverstov's press service quoted him as saying.

The provision of loans will not happen at once, funds will be disbursed upon preparation and approval of specific import substitution projects, Seliverstov said. "Obviously, borrowing does not happen in a snap - money is allotted and kept here. No, specific applications are filed on the basis of specific contracts," he said.

Seliverstov said earlier that Minsk was planning to draw a Russian loan to partially compensate for the deficit of the 2025 budget. "The 2025 budget deficit is forecasted at around 4.5 billion Belarusian rubles [some $1.37 billion, or 1.6% of the projected GDP]. Out of 4.5 billion rubles, practically 1 billion rubles will be borrowed from abroad. Some of the funds will be provided by Russia as a loan," he said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on October 28 that Belarus was expecting larger financing of joint projects with Russia and was conducting respective negotiations with the Russian government.

"There is a sufficient number of projects. The funding provided by Russia as loans [105 billion rubles for import substitution projects] is even larger than we agreed. Perhaps we will reach an agreement and make Russia interested in our new projects, which will lead to larger funding. Still, that would be the result of your negotiations [with the Belarusian government]," Lukashenko said.

Belarusian Ambassador in Moscow Alexander Rogozhnik said in mid-October that Belarus and Russia were preparing an additional package of joint import substitution projects in high-tech areas. "The Russian Federation and we have started to implement 27 projects - these are innovative, import substitution, high-tech projects - using Russian funding in the amount of 105 billion Russian rubles. An additional package of seven projects, including those in the aircraft sector, has been prepared," Rogozhnik said.

"For now, financing has been approved in the amount of 70 billion [Russian rubles] but we set the goal equivalent to the first loan of 105 billion [Russian rubles] to invest the funds in the development of high-tech production, so that both states achieve technological self-sufficiency in everything," he said.