In May 2006, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a visit of Belarus’ businessmen to the United States, reviving earlier traditions. From 1996 to 2000, the Chamber regularly arranged annual trips for Belarusian delegations to the U.S.

 In April 2003, the Chamber, in partnership with an American nonprofit organization From Heart to Heart, prepared a three-day Belarusian-American symposium. 25 representatives of U.S. businesses and humanitarian organizations, as well as more than 200 delegates from Belarusian companies took part in that event.

The trip of the business delegation to America in May 2006 was a product of very intense cooperation between the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the U.S., the Chamber of Commerce, and a number of U.S. companies throughout the country. The Belarusian organizers formed good relationships with many business entities, associations, and chambers of commerce in several American states, including Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and the District of Columbia. Direct contacts with U.S. entrepreneurs also contributed to the trip’s success.

During the trip, top administrators of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry accompanied the heads of major companies from Belarus. The director of the machine-tool plant Krasniy Borets, the heads of two furniture factories Mogilevdrev and Minsk Furniture Center, the leader of the Science, Economics, and Law Consortium, as well as the executives of the Belvest shoe factory, the Neman glass plant, the Techauto company, the Limber firm, the AKVADIV group, and the Gomel liquor plant visited the United States.

First business meetings took place at the World Trade Center in Chicago. The Belarusian ambassador to the U.S. Mikhail Khvostov and the Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vasili Romanov addressed the American businessmen, describing the economic conditions in their country and outlining prospects for U.S. trade & investment partnerships. The president of the World Trade Center Robert Languna talked about the resources of his organization and the cooperation opportunities for preparing an American delegation to visit Belarus.

The members of the Belarusian delegation met one-on-one with various Illinois-based companies and visited the Merchandise Mart trade show.

The conference at the Baker & McKenzie law firm, well attended by American businessmen, was similarly helpful and productive. The presentations of Ambassador Khvostov, the head of the Embassy’s Economic Division Vladimir Mironovich, as well as the head of the Belarusian delegation Vasiliy Romanov impressed the Americans and elicited much interest. The chief partner of Baker & McKenzie Arthur George talked about the legal aspects of doing business in Belarus and answered questions from the audience. Following the presentation, the Belarusians made company-specific introductions for potential American partners.            

The members of the Belarusian delegation visited international exhibitions for construction, packaging, and electronics at the Donald Stephan Convention Center in Chicago, examining the newest technologies available for each of the three fields.

Some delegates visited farms and plantations in Illinois and New Jersey to see the modern approaches to growing blueberries, cowberries, and cranberries.

In the city of Annapolis, the delegation met Maryland’s Secretary of State Mary Kane, the officials from the state’s department of business and economic development and many American entrepreneurs. In her address, Mary Kane noted that Maryland is one of the most technologically-advanced states in America, as it receives large funding from the federal government for advancing scientific research.

The meetings at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where the directors of the BISNIS program Tanya Shuster and Philip de Leon, as well as an international affairs specialist Irina Mitchell took part, were very important. BISNIS is a trade service of the U.S. Department of Commerce that helps in establishing partnerships between American companies and their counterparts in the C.I.S. countries. BISNIS offers good opportunities for making business contacts and exchanges.

The visit of the Belarusian delegation turned out to be very valuable and effective. Many companies have found American partners and are already actively working with them. Among other important results of the trip is the decision to organize a reciprocal visit of interested American businessmen to Belarus in the future.