MINSK, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The economy of Belarus is expected to grow by 2.6 percent in 2018, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) said in a report published on Wednesday.
The expected acceleration of the economic growth of Russia, a main trading partner of Belarus, in 2018, as well as active restoration of domestic consumer and investment demand, will allow Belarus to achieve economic growth rates exceeding the level of the previous year, the EDB said.
The bank's experts believe the country's decisions taken at the end of 2017 to liberalize the business environment can increase the potential for economic growth in the long term by improving the efficiency of the Belarusian economy as well as increasing the volume of foreign investment.
The Belarus GDP grew by 2.4 percent in 2017.
However, the EDB analysts predict that Belarus will see a slowdown in its GDP growth rates to 2.1 and 1.9 percent in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
In its previous survey in November 2017, the EDB forecasted a 1.8-percent GDP growth for Belarus in 2018.
