The Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to increase the volume of services to enterprises for developing new markets

December 6, Vitebsk / Sergey Kotovets - BELTA /. Increasing the volume of services and improving the quality of consulting assistance to Belarusian enterprises in foreign economic activity, as well as intensifying cooperation with manufacturers in mastering new markets, will be a priority for the Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the next five-year period. This was announced to a BELTA correspondent by the branch's General Director, Valery Butkevich. Balancing foreign trade and increasing export potential are strategic tasks for the Belarusian economy, as stated by the President of Belarus today at the IV All-Belarusian People's Congress. "The head of state has essentially elevated the improvement of manufacturers' competitiveness to the rank of national security issues, therefore all our plans will be based on the need to provide maximum assistance to domestic enterprises in this area," emphasized Valery Butkevich. Not every enterprise can afford to maintain a full-fledged marketing department, translators, and lawyers, without whom foreign economic activity is impossible. The Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is always ready to help domestic manufacturers in effectively solving these problems. In addition, the Vitebsk branch has over 70 cooperation agreements with foreign partners. This allows for effective assistance to enterprises in finding business partners, implementing plans for diversifying product exports, and establishing a presence in new sales markets. Since 2008 alone, the branch has concluded 11 cooperation agreements with regional chambers of near and far abroad countries, including the Cherkasy Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Dnepropetrovsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Donetsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Tavush region of Armenia, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Konya (Turkey). Such work contributes not only to the development of good-neighborly relations between regions but also to the establishment of business cooperation between domestic enterprises and businesses in other countries. The Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is constantly expanding the geography of business visits by representatives of Belarusian business. In recent years, business trips have been organized to Japan, China, Italy, France, Brazil, and a number of other countries. In 2010, the branch organized weekend fairs for domestic manufacturers in Russian cities almost monthly, which were held with invariable success. In addition, in 2009, the branch held large-scale foreign economic events - Days of the Vitebsk Region in Daugavpils and a presentation of the Vitebsk Region in Leipzig (Germany). In October 2010, a similar event took place in Brescia (Italy). Based on the results of these foreign economic projects, return visits of business delegations from Germany and Italy are being prepared, which are planned for 2011. The organization of such events and the participation of domestic manufacturers in advanced exhibition projects contribute to improving the qualifications of Belarusian specialists in management and marketing, as well as updating their knowledge of working conditions in foreign markets and opportunities for effective penetration into new markets, including through cooperation with foreign partners. -0-