International technical cooperation
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS OF 22TH OCTOBER 2003 No. 420:
International technical assistanceis one of the types of gratuitous assistance provided to the Republic of Belarus by donors of international technical assistance to support social and economic transformations, environmental protection and the elimination of consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. International technical assistance supports the development of infrastructure through research, exchange of specialists and students through transfer of experience and technology, money, equipment delivery and other goods (property) for projects (programs) approved by international technical assistance, and also in the form of seminars, conferences and public hearings;
International technical assistanceproject (program) is a legal document that provides a set of coordinated organizational-technical measures associated with one aim. The measures are supported partially or completely by donors who provide international technical assistance in monetary form, including foreign currency, in goods (property), works or services;
International technical assistance recipients are the Republic of Belarus or its administrative-territorial unit via state bodies, legal entities and citizens of the Republic of Belarus, for which the projects (programs) of international technical assistance are being implemented;
International technical assistance donor is a foreign state (its administrative-territorial unit), an international organization, their representative offices or legal entities authorized by this state or organization, that provide international technical assistance.
Goods (work, services) supplier of international technical assistance project (program) is an individual or legal entity that delivers goods (performs works, provides services) to a recipient of international technical assistance for project (program) implementation of international technical assistance;
Mini-project of international technical assistance is an international assistance project which should be implemented within one year, while the funds for its implementation should not exceed 3 thousand basic units. This amount includes foreign currency, goods (property), performance of work and provision of services.
The way of execution of national project (program) of international technical assistance is implementation of a project (program) of international technical assistance in the Republic of Belarus on the condition that the funds, intended for its realization, are fully transferred to the settlement account of the recipient(s) of international technical assistance that implements this project (program), while goods and other property intended for such a project (program) are transferred to the ownership of the recipient (recipients) of international technical assistance.
ACCORDING TO THE RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS OF 21TH NOVEMBER 2003 No. 1522 “ON SOME MEASURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS OF 22TH OCTOBER 2003 No. 460”, THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMY HAS THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS:
- to ensure the review and approval of international technical assistance projects (programs), draft resolutions of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus about their approval according to the Regulation on the procedure of preparation, review, approval and registration of projects (programs) of international technical assistance, lists of goods (property, including monetary funds), work and services provided for the implementation of these projects (programs) approved by present Regulation;
- to ensure the preparation of the National Program of International Technical Assistance;
- to ensure the work of the Commission on International Technical Cooperation under the aegis of Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus and inform about its decisions the Ministry for Taxes and Levies, the State Customs Committee and other interested parties;
- to register international technical assistance projects and information about seminars, conferences, other public hearings as part of international technical assistance, and to monitor the implementation of such projects;
- to prepare and submit an annual report for the President of the Republic of Belarus on the effective implementation of international technical assistance projects (programs) to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus; and inform about the results of the control over the targeted use of international technical assistance;
- to clarify the issues of preparation, approval, registration and implementation of projects (programs) of international technical assistance in the Republic of Belarus.
RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS OF 13TH JULY 2015 No. 590 PROVIDES:
- Introduction of the “one stop principle”
Recipients of international technical assistance provide a necessary for the approval and registration of the project in the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus. The Ministry of Economy ensures all procedures for ITC projects implementation.
- Reduction in the number of documents provided for the implementation of procedures
ITC projects recipients provide to the Ministry of Economy:
- Receiver’s request
- Application for registration of the project
- Copy of the project and its translation into Russian or Belarusian in duplicate
- Project passport
- Creation of the Coordination Council
The Coordination Council consists of representatives of donors and recipients of international technical assistance who coordinate interaction to attract and use international technical assistance and increase the efficiency of project implementation.
- Reporting simplification
Providing semi-annual reports on the progress of ITC projects is canceled.
Thus, the Resolution reduces the execution period of national procedures implementation in international technical cooperation, allows the external assistance to meet the national priorities for sustainable development, and maintains the principle of universality which provides a uniform approach for all donors and recipients of international technical assistance.