Business news

3 Nov 2025

PM: Belarus’ development targets for 2026 are highly ambitious

MINSK, 3 November (BelTA) - The key forecast parameters for the country's development in 2026 are highly ambitious, Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin told the media while commenting on the documents approved by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 3 November, BelTA has learned.

“When we began developing the forecast documents, these parameters were, let's say, moderately challenging. Today, these parameters appear extremely challenging,” the head of government said. The situation is changing very dynamically domestically and externally. “The parameters approved by the [resident are very demanding. To fulfill them, coordinated work from all stakeholders in our country will be required, from enterprise managers to the state apparatus,” the prime minister emphasized.

At the same time, according to him, the government is grateful to the head of state for supporting the proposals on the key indicators of the country's social and economic development. “The documents were signed as the government submitted them,” Aleksandr Turchin said adding that this was preceded by enormous preparatory work. It involved coordinating all the figures with the stakeholders, not only members of the government but also state bodies, the State Control Committee, and both chambers of parliament. “Believe me, the figures we propose to the president have been carefully verified. But I want to say again, in today's realities, they are very, very ambitious," the prime minister noted.

He noted that, as the key forecast parameters have been approved by the president, the government is preparing a number of additional regulatory legal acts. These are intended to |enable a smooth and immediate start on the targets from 1 January 2026, without any disruption.”

As it been reported, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed Decree No. 385 to approve the most important forecast parameters for the country's development for 2026 on 3 November. The document is aimed to ensure the stability of the economy and improve the well-being of people, BelTA learned from the press service of the head of state.

Gross domestic product is projected to increase by 2.8% over 2025. This will be facilitated by increased investment in fixed capital, accelerated growth in the export of goods and services and real household income.

The decree also sets the targets for their implementation. It is planned that next year the amount of funding designated for investment purposes will see a 3.1% increase from all financing sources relative to the current year's level. The export of goods and services is forecast to increase by 3.7%, with the growth primarily coming from an increase in physical volume. To achieve this, it is planned to expand cooperation with anchor hubs in far-abroad countries and restore presence in traditional sales markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Focused efforts on qualitative development and building up export will enable a 4.8% increase in the real disposable household income.

The National Bank and the government have been tasked with keeping inflation under 7%.

The decree instructs the government to approve a plan for social and economic development for 2026, which will serve as the instrument for achieving these outlined targets.

The key parameters were thoroughly discussed at a meeting on 16 October. “As for the forecast targets for 2026, we need a realistic yet ambitious scenario,” the president said back then.

Aleksandr Lukashenko does not exclude the possibility that someone might propose a growth rate higher than the estimated 2.8%. “If someone wants to propose 3-3.5%, they are welcome. [They must explain] how they are going to achieve this growth, what means they will use for that and what personal contributions they are going to make to achieve this higher dynamic. If someone proposes a lower rate, then explain how this will be perceived by our society and how Belarus will live. One cannot simply stand up and say: ‘We are planning too little now, we need more.’ More based on what?” the head of state outlined his approach.

He stated that the Russian economy is shrinking and this situation cannot be ignored, given that Russia accounts for about 67% of Belarus’ exports and 56% of imports. “Therefore, we need detailed digitized commodity plans more than ever: what we produce and in what volumes, where we sell it, and how much foreign currency we will bring into the country,” the president emphasized.