News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 22 April (BelTA) – Fast development of the domestic market, improvement of economic management mechanisms and all-round promotion of competition should become the three pillars of Belarus’ new economic policy. The Belarusian leader made this statement as he delivered the State of the Nation Address on 22 April, BelTA has learnt.

“Three fundamental things - fast development of the domestic market, improvement of economic management mechanisms and all-round promotion of competition – should become the three pillars of the new economic policy. As I have said before, we will not give up on traditional growth points. No matter how hard it might be for us, we keep working, we are busy upgrading the manufacturing industry. There is nothing extraordinary about it. If we do not upgrade it now, we will not be able to sell anything on international markets in the future, we will not be able to export anything, thus we will not receive foreign currency revenues to pay for oil and gas,” the President said.

Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that during this five-year period Belarus invested nearly $20 billion in the upgrade, 1.5 times more than in the previous five-year period. Those were projects in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industry, agribusiness, pharmaceutics, pulp and paper industry, wood processing, production of building materials, leather and textile industries.