On April 24, 2019 the Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) within the framework of the Memorandum of understating between MART and IFC.

For reference: Since 2018, the Republic of Belarus has been implementing the current IFC Advisory program to improve the business environment with the support of the European Union and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). IFC provides advisory services to the Government to promote the development of the private sector in Belarus, including by strengthening market competition.

According to the Agreement, the preparation and implementation of the Competition Development Program in the Republic of Belarus (the Program) and Road maps for the development of competition in certain sectors of the economy are defined as the strategic direction of cooperation between MART and IFC. The purpose of the Program – the formation and development of a competitive environment and attracting investment, which ultimately will serve as an additional impetus for the sustainable development of the Republic of Belarus economy in the long term.

Implementing the measures stipulated by the Protocol of Intent between the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a visit of experts from the World Bank Group in the field of competition policy took place on March 19-21, 2019 to discuss ongoing teamwork on the preparation of the draft Program for the Development of Competition in the Republic of Belarus.

On March 12, 2019, a meeting of the Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Koltovich with the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in the Republic of Belarus Armen Ghevondyan was held.

During the meeting, promising areas for the development of bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed, the potential in increasing the Belarusian-Armenian trade was noted.

On February 27, 2019, a solemn ceremony of signing the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the protection of competition (hereinafter - the Agreement) was held at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow).

The purpose of the Agreement is to create a legal framework for the cooperation of the antimonopoly authorities of the two countries in identifying and preventing violations of antitrust laws, including from economic entities of third countries.

The XI session of the Intergovernmental Belarusian-Serbian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, chaired by the Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Koltovich and State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia Dragan Stevanovic, was held on January 31, 2019 in Minsk.

During the session, the sides discussed current issues of bilateral interaction in the fields of trade, investment, industry, agriculture, transport, tourism, scientific and technical cooperation. 

On December 6-7, 2018, representatives of MART headed by the Deputy Minister of Antimonopoly regulation and trade Ivan Vezhnovets took part in the IV International scientific and practical conference “Antimonopoly policy: science, practice and education”, which was held in Moscow at the innovation center “Skolkovo”.

The topical issues of competition in digital markets, approaches to the consideration of global transactions of economic concentration, the issues of effective tariff regulation, as well as the directions of improving the system of government procurement in modern conditions were discussed during the conference.

On 28-29 November, 2018, the fifth Meeting of the Belarusian-Egyptian Joint Trade Commission (the Commission) was held in Cairo under the chairmanship of the Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Koltovich and the Minister of Trade and Industry of the Arab Republic of Egypt Amr Nassar. During the Meeting of the Commission the parties discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation in various fields: trade and investment, industry, agriculture, petrochemistry, transport, finance, communications and information technologies, wood processing, energy, science and research, education, environmental protection, sports and tourism, healthcare, culture.

Since January 2019, the Branch Laboratory of antimonopoly and price regulation, regulation in the field of trade (the Branch Laboratory), formed on the basis of the Belarusian State Economic University will start work. 

The Branch Laboratory is created for the purpose of carrying out scientific researches in the field of antimonopoly and price regulation and regulation in the field of trade, providing a strong scientific basis for decision-making on the most topical issues in these areas.

On November 26, 2018 the fifth Meeting of the Joint Belarusian-Polish Commission on Economic Cooperation (the Commission) was held in Warsaw under the chairmanship of Vladimir Koltovich, the Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of the Republic of Belarus and Jadwiga Emilewicz, the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology of the Republic of Poland. During the Meeting of the Commission the Parties discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation in trade and investment spheres, as well as in agriculture, transport, finance, insurance, development of small and medium enterprises.

The Resolution of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of the Republic of Belarus of November 19, 2018 No. 83 “On Approval of the Instruction on the Method of Calculating the Maximum Selling Prices of Producers for medicines” was adopted as part of the implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 22, 2018 No. 345 "On Registration of Prices for Medicines".

The basis of the Instruction on the method of calculating the maximum selling prices of manufacturers for medicines (hereinafter referred to as the Instruction) is based on the principle of reference pricing. Thus, the document defines a list of countries for which information on the level of minimum selling prices for medicines is provided.