Executive Director at the Board of the World Bank Group representing Russia Roman Marshavin has said that Belarus’ interests at the World Bank (WB) will be represented by Russia from November 2024.

“From November 1, we will also represent Minsk,” Marshavin clarified, commenting on Belarus’ transition to the Russian-Syrian directorship at the WB, Caliber.Az reports via Belarus media. 

Until now, Belarus was represented by the Turkish-Belgian directorate at the bank. This situation changed at the initiative of Minsk. The Russian directorate at the WB has also represented Syria’s interests since 2014. In March 2022, the WB announced the suspension of all its programmes in Belarus due to the war in Ukraine.      

In its autumn review of the economies of Europe and Central Asia, the WB significantly upgraded its GDP growth forecast for Belarus. While it previously anticipated a growth of 1.2 per cent in summer, it now expects an increase of 4 per cent. However, the WB remains highly skeptical about the prospects for the Belarusian economy in the coming years.

According to WB experts, Belarus’ GDP growth is projected to reach 1.2 per cent in 2025 and just 0.8 per cent in 2026. In June, WB analysts had an even more pessimistic view of the Belarusian economy. In their summer report, they estimated a growth of only 0.7 per cent for 2025 and 0.5 per cent for 2026.

By Naila Huseynova