For well over a decade, Belarus has held the unenviable reputation of being Europe’s only remaining outright authoritarian country. Press freedoms and the political opposition have long been curtailed by the rule of President Alexander Lukashenko and the economy is, in large part, centrally controlled.

But there appear be new signs of hope on the horizon, especially as the Belarusian government develops a friendlier relationship with the European Union. If these ties grow further in the coming years and are coupled with a policy of economic liberalization, this former Soviet bloc country may very well become one of the most popular destinations for investors on the continent.

The EU was pleased to see that the Belarusian government agreed to release three political prisoners from custody earlier this month. At the same time, this former Soviet country—with very close political and cultural ties to neighbouring Russia—seems to have made a point of following a more independent course in recent months. Most importantly, Belarus did not recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in the Republic of Georgia, despite Russian efforts.

There are clear signs of a thaw when it comes to EU-Belarus relations and a current restriction on high-level political contacts will almost certainly be eased in the coming months.

All of this opens the way for economic opportunities, of which there are plenty in this northeast European country.

In addition to real estate opportunities (once the economy is liberalized), Belarus has a significant amount of iron ore, which means that  there are opportunities for mining, and the country is also home to two oil pipeline companies.

Most importantly, however, the Belarusian tourism industry remains distinctly underdeveloped at the moment, opening up a range of business opportunities in the near future.