MINSK, 13 March (BelTA) - Head of EBRD Representative Office in Minsk Francis Delaey and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Belgazprombank (BGPB) Sergei Shaban will sign an agreement on the new ?20 million credit line for the Belarusian bank for a period of seven years, BelTA learned from the Belarusian bank.

The funds will be onlent to support small and medium-sized enterprises that are implementing projects to construct, renovate or purchase their own office premises, warehouses, industrial and retail buildings, greenhouses, agricultural facilities and other commercial premises.

“We are pleased to sign the agreement on the financing of commercial real estate with Belgazprombank, which is one of the most important partners of the EBRD in Belarus. The new product will help meet the current market demand for long-term funding of investments in real estate and is an important step towards creating a more attractive environment for local companies,” Francis Delaey said.

“This is the first credit line for Belarus which will be used to finance commercial real estate. This means that the EBRD recognizes that Belgazprombank applies advanced approaches to project financing, on the one hand, and gives the Bank an exceptional opportunity to fund projects of its customers in terms of adequate resources,” Deputy Chairman of the Board of Belgazprombank Sergei Shaban noted.

The financial institutions started mutually beneficial cooperation in 1996, and at the moment Belgazprombank is one of the main partners of EBRD in the Republic of Belarus. Established in 1990, Belgazprombank is controlled by Gazprom Group and occupies the leading positions in Belarus in terms of financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The signing ceremony will feature an exclusive preview of the “gem” of the corporate collection of Belgazprombank - Portrait of Tomasz Zan by Valenty Wankowicz. This is the only painting of the Belarusian artist that has been brought home. It is no coincidence that the Wankowicz house-turned-museum will host the agreement singing ceremony.

The experts of the State Russian Museum confirmed the authenticity of the painting and praised the great artistic and historical value of the portrait. Tomasz Zan entered the history of Belarus as a member of the liberation movement, researcher, writer, and a poet.

The portrait of Tomas Zan will be presented to the general public as part of the unusual exhibition project called Ten Centuries of Art in Belarus which will be officially launched at the National Art Museum of Belarus on 27 March.