Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya gave speech at the 3rd Belarusian Business Forum in Vilnius:
“Dear organizers and participants of the Belarusian Business Forum in Vilnius,
Dear friends!
It is the third time already that you have gathered to discuss problems and perspectives of relocated Belarusian business in Lithuania, and in the Baltic countries. As the head of the United Transitional Cabinet, I heartily welcome this.
I am glad this forum is taking place in Lithuania, which has kindly accepted thousands of Belarusians after 2020, including myself. Lithuania also received hundreds of private businesses relocating from Belarus. They contribute substantially to the Lithuanian economy by creating new jobs and paying taxes. And I hope that Lithuania will continue to accept and support honest Belarusian business.
Dear friends,
The economy is the foundation of any society. And private business is the very soul of a flourishing economy. Without private business, there’s no initiative, no creativity, no desire for new achievements and innovations. In short, there’s no growth of well-being for all.
Just look at the current state of the Belarusian economy with its so-called pro-government business. It’s evident that such a model is unsustainable.
New Belarus will need a viable economy. It’s you who are laying its foundations today.
The progress of the Association of Belarusian Business Abroad impresses me. During the last two years, ABBA became the voice of honest Belarusian businesses abroad. The Association is the only nationally oriented Belarusian business organization in the world. It already includes more than a hundred members from a dozen countries. Given your high ethical standards, it’s truly impressive.
The fact that money “does not smell” is not true anymore. In the age of digital technologies, verifying the origin of funds is easier than before. Ethical criteria in business become very important. Ethical business is specifically important today when two aggressor regimes are waging war against Ukraine.
Today, many fair business people are persecuted and even imprisoned for their political views in Belarus. It is unacceptable that others, at the same time, do business with dictators or help them to circumvent sanctions.
This is why economic security should be in the first place. I am happy that ABBA pays close attention to this.
It is very important to preserve the good name of Belarusian business worldwide. It should be associated with transparency, honesty, and creativity. These are precisely the values that we should bring to Belarus after the political transformation.
Despite growing economic dependence on Russia, I have a very clear vision that Belarus will always be a part of the GLOBAL economy, not Russia’s economy. When democratic changes happen in my country, European Union countries will emerge as our primary trade partners. We will actively pursue free-trade agreements with both the EU and the USA, creating one of the most attractive business climates globally.
Even in emigration, Belarusians remain creative, proactive, and hardworking. I am not afraid that Belarusian business people will be lost in the world. I’m sure they will flourish, create jobs in the hosting countries, and support our democratic movement and civil society.
In conclusion, let me thank the partners of the forum – the European Commission, the Lithuanian Employers Confederation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, the Team of 3 Seas Initiative Business Forum in Vilnius, and the Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce – for the attention they pay to the development of relocated Belarusian business.
I wish this forum to bring tangible results both for our business community and, in the future, for all of us Belarusians.
Good luck to you. Let’s build a new Belarus together and bring it back to the European family where it truly belongs”.
