Belarusian Finance Ministry expects second tranche of Russian loan in H1 2021

The Belarusian Finance Ministry expects to receive the second tranche of the Russian loan in H1 2021, BelTA learned from Belarusian Finance Minister Yuri Seliverstov on 26 February.The official said: “We expect that we will receive the second tranche of the Russian loan to the tune of $500 million in H1 2021. It is what we and our colleagues from Russia have agreed on. There are no reasons to believe it will not happen.”Asked whether negotiations on a new Russian loan are in progress, the finance minister said: “Raising credit resources, including from Russia, for the sake of implementing joint projects, including infrastructure ones, has always been on the agenda. The possibilities are being explored now, too. It is necessary to develop infrastructure. One of the main goals outlined by the Belarusian People's Congress is to improve the quality of life of our citizens. This is why raising additional resources for this goal is one of the main tasks, too.”“It is too early to talk about floating eurobonds. We are thinking about returning to the Moscow financial exchange this year,” Yuri Seliverstov added.BelTA reported earlier that the Belarusian-Russian agreement on lending the equivalent of $1 billion to Belarus was signed on 21 December 2020. The Belarusian Finance Ministry received the first tranche of the loan worth $500 million on 30 December.