Foreign diplomats tour Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange

Ambassadors and diplomats of foreign countries toured the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange in Minsk on 8 June, BelTA has learned.

About 29,000 participants of electronic trading from 70 countries are currently registered with the exchange, Chairman of the Board of BUCE Aleksandr Osmolovsky told the guests. The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange is fully integrated into the country's economy, he added.

Foreign diplomats were interested in how much the COVID situation affected the exchange. Aleksandr Osmolovsky explained that during this period e-commerce surged in fact and electronic platforms became more popular.

The diplomats also asked about the work under the sanctions that were imposed almost a year and a half ago. According to the head of BUCE, the use of the exchange mechanism has become an effective way to tap into the import-substituting potential of the Belarusian economy. Thanks to the electronic platform, it was possible to neutralize the negative impact of sanctions and to provide the domestic market with Belarusian analogues of imported goods, which made a positive impact on the capabilities of domestic producers.

The diplomats learned about the use of the exchange mechanism in trade and procurement, and also about the benefits of exchange trading.

According to Aleksandr Osmolovsky, Chinese companies successfully trade at BUCE. Special trading sessions are held for them. Payments are carried out in yuan.

Despite a constantly increasing number of e-commerce participants and participating countries, there have been no cases of failures in payment for goods, and mutual settlements have always been successful and secure. As for security, according to BUCE representatives, numerous cyberattacks are successfully countered.

Foreign diplomats showed great interest in the activities of the exchange and its possibilities. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan to Belarus Ermek Ibraimov said that there was a lot to learn from Belarusians.

The meeting was organized at the initiative of the Belarusian Society of Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.

Founded in 2004, the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange is one of the largest commodity exchanges in Eastern Europe. Its main function is to assist Belarusian enterprises with export and foreign companies with entering the Belarusian market.