On September 3-4th, 2020, "Brest" FEZ delegation took part in the discussion about topical issues of the activities of free economic zones in Belarus. The Conference was held in Gomel in the business center of the FEZ "Gomel-Raton".


The event was attended by delegations from six free economic zones, as well as officials from the Ministry of Economy, Gomel Regional Executive Committee, as well as representatives of the expert community in the field of economic development. The subject of the forum was “Topical issues of the activity of free economic zones of the Republic of Belarus.” In accordance with the program, four blocks of issues related to the further development of free economic zones were considered. Among them there were the improvement of legislation, ways of increasing the inflow of investments, land relations and infrastructure development, economic efficiency.


At the Conference there was especially noted the contribution of free economic zones to the socio-economic development of regions. As for today, the FEZs make almost 17% of industrial production output and more than 20% of the country's exports. The FEZ industrial territories take 20% of foreign direct investment. Anzhelika Nikitina, the Deputy Minister of Economy, drew the attention of the conference participants to the fact that free economic zones should become one of the main segments of the five-year program of the country's socio-economic development. The task of the FEZs is to be the locomotive of the state investment policy. For these purposes, the necessary changes will be made to the current legislation.


"Brest" FEZ is the first free economic zone in Belarus. For 25 years , it has been a territory of new opportunities for innovative forms of doing business and the implementation of significant investment projects. As of September 1st, 2020, 75 residents are registered in the FEZ "Brest", including 48 with the participation of foreign capital. More than 22 thousand people work at the enterprises of the FEZ. The annual export is 720 million dollars, and the geography of supplies includes 75 countries of the world. In 2020, the free economic zone was extended by two land plots located in the city of Ivatsevichi and  Ivatsevichi  district. The total area of the "Brest" FEZ reached  10802.6 hectares (more than 108 km²). This year, six new residents were registered, including the famous furniture manufacturer from Germany - POLIPOL.