Azernews.Az

MINSK – Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich visiting Azerbaijan on Thursday offered the country to purchase a bank in Belarus.

Myasnikovich made the proposal as he toured the car plant in Ganja, the country’s second largest city.

"Why wouldn’t Azerbaijan buy a Belarusian bank or part of it? This would mean both diversification of its capital and presence in the Belarusian financial market," he was quoted by the local media as saying.

The Belarusian government currently owns Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, Belinvestbank and Paritetbank.

The prime minister said that during his two-day visit he intended to discuss cooperation with Azerbaijan in the areas of investments and innovations, as well as joint production of machinery.

Meanwhile, reports said the Belarusian government plans to ask Azerbaijan to allocate a loan.

"We have a chance to draw a state loan from Azerbaijan," said a source from the financial circles in Minsk. "Maybe, it will work. Other crediting schemes, including commodity loans, will be discussed as well."

The source noted that the Belarusian delegation led by Prime Minister Myasnikovich also includes Finance Minister Andrei Kharkovets.

It reminded that Azerbaijan allotted a $200 million loan to Belarus in June 2010 to clear the country’s overdue debt to the Russian giant Gazprom for gas supplies.