News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 3 January (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree on Belarus’ social and economic development goals for 2018, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian leader.

The tasks set by the president are based on the top priorities of Belarus’ social and economic development program for 2016-2020. The key goals to be achieved in 2018 are higher competitiveness of Belarus’ economy, a stable economic growth, and additional conditions to boost it in the years to come.

The decree also maps out a list of key parameters to evaluate the performance of the government and the National Bank of Belarus.

The GDP is expected to go up by 3.5% in 2018, the exports of goods and services are projected to rise by 5.7%. An almost near-zero foreign trade balance guarantees that the economy is supplied with resources in the face of the expected foreign debt payments and contributions to the country’s gold and forex reserves.

The Belarus president instructed the National Bank and the government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the prices grow by no more than 6% in 2018.

The decree outlines the key social and economic development goals, for instance, achieving a proper balance of payments and expanding the list of export destinations and export items. The government is expected to ensure a further economically feasible increase in salaries by means of generating highly efficient jobs, in the first place.

The gaps in the quality of life between Belarus’ regions shall be reduced. The authorities will redouble the effort to advance the country’s economic system to ensure long-term economic growth drivers, create new companies and jobs, and boost the export potential. A system of guarantees for investors will be formed as a follow-up to the stimulation of business and investment activity.