Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Technology

Photo: ukmin.lt

Lithuania's Ministry of Economy and Innovation says it is now holding meetings with representatives of state institutions and business associations to discuss major obstacles and challenges as well as proposals on ways to attract such Belarusian companies and specialists to Lithuania.

Specialists from Belarus could help fill places in the area of information technology, Economy and Innovation Minister Rimantas Sinkevicius says.

"We are inviting Belarusian citizens and companies to settle down in our country. Lithuania's labor market is facing a shortage of qualified specialists, felt especially in the area of information technology, therefore, specialists from Belarus would be welcome to fill that niche," the minister said in a statement.

Although state enterprises dominate The Belarusian energy, fertilizer, heavy machinery and agricultural sectors, the IT sector has been growing fast in Minsk in recent years, officially including almost 1,700 companies. For example, the popular World of Tanks game was created by a Belarusian company Wargaming.

In the middle of August, Belarusian IT companies called on the country's authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko to hold a new presidential election and stop brutalities on the country's streets. Otherwise, they threatened to leave the country.

Belarus has been rocked by protests over the past several weeks, sparked by the announcement that Lukashenko was re-elected for a new term. The opposition says the vote was rigged and demand a new election and release of political prisoners.