Qatar Ties of Lukashenka Raise Questions

Why is the fact of Qatar fund's intention to buy the unfinished building on the bank of the Svislach River not surprising?

The Belarusian authorities have recently cultivated their new "oil friend". Aliaksandr Lukashenka and his eldest son Viktar repeatedly visited Qatar (visa-free regime with Belarus).

To attract eastern investors the ruler of Belarus was lavish with gifts.

For example, in 2012 after an official visit to Qatar the head of Belarus allocated 24 hectares of land near the Dubrouski reservoir on the border of the Minsk and Smalyavichy districts - whether to create an industrial zone or for a "hunting area".

Another Belarus-Qatar project is a mixed-use complex Sokol. The construction has started in 2012. Viktar Lukashenka personally supervised the construction process, and Qatar Armed Forces Fund was an official investor. As the result, $200 million were invested in the construction and the state created the most favourable conditions for it.

- It is the beginning of Qatar investments. It is planned to implement one more large-scale project, Abdulrahman Al-Kuwari, representative of the Qatar Defence Ministry, promised in Minsk last year. - It may be a surprise for Belarus, but still it is a secret.

And now it became known that the Qatar State Investment Fund is the main contender for the purchase of a mixed-use complex near the circus in Minsk. On easy terms, again.

Barys Zhaliba explained Salidarnasts why the Belarusian government cajoled Qatar sheikhs and whether there was a prospect of such cooperation.

According to the interlocutor, it is alarming that all projects are linked to non-transparent arrangements and personal contacts between the Belarusian leadership and Qatar authorities.

- It raises questions when a building in the city centre or a land plot which belong to the state are offered under murky conditions, the expert notes. - Moreover, we must remember that Qatar finances various movements in the troubled Arab world, they are due in no small part to events in Syria. They often invest up to show their influence.

The economist also does not share hopes of Belarusian bureaucrats on increase of exports to Qatar:

- What can we supply? It is a rich country and if it buys something it must be of high quality. From this point neither our MAZs nor our tractors are needed in Qatar.

The only plus of such gifts is, perhaps, cooperation in the gas sphere, the expert believes.

- Now many European countries curb their imports from Russia replacing Gazprom's gas with a liquefied one delivered from Qatar, Barys Zhaliba points out. - Even the Poles and the Lithuanians do it. Here Belarus could cultivate cooperation in order to reduce its dependence on Russia. However, unfortunately, Belarusian bureaucrats do not look this way and believe that we do not need it.