Since 2003, the GTZ has been active on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in assisting the Republic of Belarus to establish structures of civil society and the rule of law.

In September 1991 the Parliament of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic declared the country’s sovereignty. In 1996, initial steps to introduce democracy, the rule of law and a free market economy were abruptly halted by President Alexander Lukashenko. A constitutional amendment accorded him the extensive powers and legislative rights necessary to do so. In the official government programme to promote the ‘Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus 2001-2005’ the state regulation of the economy plays a key role.

The absence of fair and free elections has resulted in an increasing isolation of the country from the international community. Neither incentives nor sanctions imposed by international actors including the European Union (EU) the USA, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IWF) nor the direct proximity to the EU since 1 May 2004 have succeeded in changing the government’s stance vis-à-vis western models of democracy.  However, the international financial and economic crisis has had the effect of making Belarusian policymakers more open to far-reaching economic reforms. In addition, the discontinuation of subsidised energy imports from Russia is placing an increasingly heavy burden on the foreign balance of payments.

Against this backdrop, since 2003 GTZ has been promoting social and economic reform through the Belarus Promotion Programme in the fields of:

• education
• regional network-building
• energy efficiency and renewable energies
• integration of people with disabilities and health promotion

Despite this support, Belarus is not a regular partner country of the BMZ.

A subcontractor, the Association for International Education and Exchange (IBB Dortmund), coordinates some 40 German-Belarusian partnership projects run by NGOs and implements accompanying training and networking measures.

To date there is no formal intergovernmental agreement between Germany and the Republic of Belarus. Cooperation agreements are signed exclusively with civil society actors. GTZ does not have a project office in Minsk, but organises its promotional programme through the Head Office in Eschborn.