For the fifth successive year, EAST research fellow Andrei Yeliseyeu publishes a review of the Belarus’ economic and political relations with developing countries for the annual Belarusian Yearbook. The year 2016 saw a downturn in Belarus’ diplomatic contacts with developing countries in comparison with the previous year, although they were on an upswing in 2011-2014.
The most important trends:
• Stagnation in the diplomatic contacts with developing countries continues;
• Belarus makes attempts to achieve observer status in a number of regional organizations to maintain and develop relations with distant countries;
• Modest progress was achieved in creating free trade zones between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member states and developing countries;
• The statistics of official trade with many developing countries was distorted because of the re-export of embargoed products from Belarus to Russia.
Read the full chapter: Relations between Belarus and developing countries in 2016: Logical stagnation
See Andrei Yeliseyeu‘s chapters on Belarus’ relations with developing countries for the earlier editions of the Belarusian Yearbook:
South Asia in priority (2015)
A search for new ‘Venezuelas” (2014)
Looking for new forms of economic cooperation (2013)
Faulty single-commodity export orientation (2012)
