Enjoy a series of webinars “Belarus and Russia. Expert Talk on Economic Ties and Future” with Belarusian and Russian economists on what Belarus means to Russia, and vice versa, from the economic perspective.
A deep political crisis in Belarus puts on the agenda a number of questions about role of Russia for Belarus. Looking for answers, CASE Belarus and the “European Dialogue” Expert Group (Russia) initiated a series of webinars “Belarus and Russia. Expert Talk on Economic Ties and Future”. The aim of the initiative is to create a direct communication channel between economists and experts from Belarus and Russia to discuss current and future issues and opportunities in relations between the two countries.
Webinar #1
Interrelation of the economies of Belarus and Russia”.
The experts discussed key sectors of dependence of the Belarusian economy on Russia: energy subsidies, export of goods, external debt and ownership of Belarusian enterprises and banks. For many years, Russia’s generous energy, economic, and financial support “in exchange for air kisses” made it possible to ensure Belarus’ economic growth without major structural reforms. Belarus has used its opportunities ineffectively, mostly spending those large energy subsidies and concessional loans to support the unreformed state-owned sector. On the other hand, about half of the value added in the Belarusian economy is generated by the private sector, which has grown significantly in recent years.
Speakers:
When: December 17, 2020
Language: Russian, English
Webinar #2
Sustainability of the sovereign debt of Belarus
In 2021, the cost of servicing the sovereign debt will exceed 11% of the Belarusian budget. Due to the ongoing political repressions, new borrowings from international financial institutions, Western governments and investors are practically frozen. Russia remains one of the few remaining creditors of the authorities. In this situation, will the Belarusian authorities be able to pay out their debt as before? What can be the solutions to this problem?
Speakers:
Dmitry Kruk – Senior Researcher, BEROC Center for Economic Research (Belarus)
Vladimir Kovalkin – economist and project manager “Costa Urada” (“Government Cost”) (Belarus)
Sergey Aleksashenko and Sergey Khestanov – Russian economists
Moderator: Ales Alachnovic – Vice-President of CASE Belarus
When: January 20, 2021
Language: Russian
Webinar #3
Current social policy in Belarus
How is the social policy build in Belarus today? What are the most important issues that need to be solved? What is the role of independent trade unions in the Belarusian social policy?
Speakers:
Katerina Bornukova, Academic Director of the Center for Economic Research BEROC (Minsk);
Alexander Yaroshuk, Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions;
Pavel Kudyukin, co-chairman of the “University Solidarity” trade union;
Ruslan Grinberg, scientific director of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
Frank Hoffer, Research Fellow, Global Labor University
Boris Kravchenko, Chairman of the Confederation of Labor of Russia
When: February 20, 2021
Language: Russian
Webinar #4
Reforming state-owned enterprises in Belarus
How huge and efficient is the SOE sector in Belarus? What is its role in the economic and political system? What reforms in the SOE sector need to be done for sustainable economic growth? How much do large state-owned enterprises cost today? Will the private sector be able to provide jobs for those people who will be left jobless as a result of the reforms? What lessons should be learned from the experience of state enterprise reforms in Russia and other countries of our region.
Speakers:
Pavel Daneiko, General Director of the IPM Business School, Administrative Director of the BEROC Center for Economic Research
Maxim Adaskevich, financial analyst at Duff & Phelps, Germany
Sergey Guriev, Professor of Economics at the Paris School of Political Sciences (Sciences Po) , Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2015-2019
Andrey Nechaev, Professor of economics, Minister of Economy of the Russian Federation in 1992-1993.
Moderator: Ales Alachnovic – Vice-President of CASE Belarus
When: March 23, 2021
Language: Russian
