THE NORTH–SOUTH TRANSPORT CORRIDOR PROJECT IN THE CONTEXT OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC INTERESTS OF BELARUS

The foreign trade relations of the Republic of Belarus have been developing in crisis conditions over the past four years. They are limited by the sanctions of the Euro-Atlantic bloc countries. Unfavorable external conditions forced the leadership of Belarus to look for alternative markets and routes for the sale of its goods, which led to increased discussions and diplomatic efforts around the North–South international transport corridor project, which has not been fully implemented by the participating countries for almost a quarter of a century. The article examines the current state of the North–South corridor and the main problems of this route along each of the three branches. The text also analyzes the main preconditions for Minsk’s increased interest in the North–South corridor, assesses the current state of the republic’s trade relations with counterparty countries along this transport corridor, and assesses Belarus’ readiness to really increase its efforts to build the potential of the route. The author concludes that Minsk should not be expected to make significant efforts within the framework of the project due to the fact that: a) the dynamics and volumes of Belarusian supplies in monetary and physical terms to the countries of the «far arc» are unstable and still fairly modest in the total volume of exports of the republic; b) significant additional growth in both the volume and range of Belarusian goods to countries along the North–South corridor is not expected in the foreseeable future, as the thesis of Minsk reaching the limits of the «export maneuver» seems increasingly convincing. Belarus is ready to take advantage of the capacity and simplification of the logistics of the corridor, but is unlikely to agree to actions that require costs on its part, due to the lack of a legitimate economic interest