Administration of the Free Economic Zone took part in the International Economic Forum in Smorgon
On May 25, 2019, the International Economic Forum «New Opportunities and Prospects for Cooperation» was held in Smorgon, in which the administration of the FEZ Grodnoinvest took part.
Representatives of regional authorities and busines from Belarus, Poland and Lithuania took part in the forum. Within the framework of the Plenary Session, a presentation of the economic potential and investment opportunities of the Smorgon, Ostrovets and Oshmyany regions was held. Special attention was paid to the development of regional entrepreneurship. Thematic sections discussed issues of cooperation in the field of industrial production, energy, promotion of the cluster model of economic development, tourism, hotel business and logistics.
Prospects for business development in the Grodno region through the sectoral clusters of the FEZ Grodnoinvest were presented by the head of the foreign economic activity department of the FEZ administration, Denis Shuleyko. He spoke at the section «Clusters open borders for the development of regions». The expert opinion on this topic was also voiced by the director of the Business Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers named after Professor M.S. Kunyavky - Zhanna Tarasevich, consultant of the Republican Foundation for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship - Lyudmila Istomina, Head of the Economy Department of Innovation Activities of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus - Dmitry Krupsky, as well as the management of the residents of the FEZ Kronospan and Shinaka Mebel Bel, leading companies in the woodworking and manufacturing sector furniture in the region.
For reference: a key share in the production structure of the FEZ Grodnoinvest is occupied by enterprises of the woodworking and furniture industries (33%). In 2018, they produced products at 830 million rubles, the growth rate was 125%. In these industries 24 residents of the Grodnoinvest FEZ are represented (32% of the total).
The administration of the FEZ is actively developing the idea of sectoral clustering, the purpose of which is to increase internal cooperation between existing and potential residents and increase the investment attractiveness of the Grodno region. Over the past two years, 4 FEZ resident companies have become participants of the furniture cluster in Smorgon. One of them was the manufacturer of furniture and components for the Group of Companies IKEA GABI-BEL .