Events

Lukashenko appoints new defense minister, Chief of General Staff
Major-General Viktor Khrenin, who led the troops of the Western Operational Command, has been appointed Belarus' Defense Minister. Major-General Aleksandr Volfovich, who previously served as First Deputy Head of the General Staff, has been appointed Chief of the General Staff...

Belarusian foreign minister meets with OSCE’s new representative in contact group on Ukraine
Heidi Grau was in Minsk for this year’s first negotiations on resolving the conflict in Ukraine, which took place on 16 January...

Organizing committee set up for Belarus-Russia Forum of Regions
The organizing committee includes members of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic, heads of ministries and government agencies, oblast executive committees and the Minsk City Council, rectors of higher learning institutions, representatives of the business community and heads of regional councils of deputies...

Family capital deposits worth $783.3m opened in Belarus
The family capital program is a long-term and effective measure to support families with many children...

No need to tweak Belarus budget due to situation with Russian oil
There is no need to tweak the state budget in Belarus due to the situation with Russian oil, BelTA learned from Belarusian Finance Minister Maksim Yermolovich on 14 January...

Lukashenko presents state awards to civil servants, performers, journalists
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko presented state awards to civil servants, performers and journalists at a presidential reception in the run-up to the Orthodox New Year on 11 January...

Lukashenko offers condolences over passing of Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said al Said
According to the Belarusian head of state, it is with big pain and sorrow that people in Belarus have learned the news about the passing of Qaboos bin Said al Said who did a lot for the development of Oman and the enhancement of relations with other states, including Belarus...

EAEU minister speaks about expectations of Belarus’ EAEU presidency
"Not only me, but also many others expect a breakthrough and implementation of main freedoms, namely the freedom of movement of goods, workforce, finances and services. These fundamental tasks are of strategic importance"...

New CSTO secretary general assumes office
Addressing the staff of the secretariat, Stanislav Zas said that the appointment to the post of the CSTO Secretary General is a great honor and a great responsibility for him...

Belarus-EU visa facilitation agreement expected to come into force in June 2020
The source said: “After the agreements were signed today, they will be forwarded for endorsement to the European Parliament”...

Lukashenko congratulates Kurz on appointment as Austria’s federal chancellor
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that Belarus appreciates Sebastian Kurz’s constructive approach to the development of bilateral relations which have reached a brand-new level in recent years...

Makei, Pompeo talk over phone
During the conversation Michael Pompeo explained why he had to postpone his visit to Belarus...

New Belarusian economy minister to bolster public sector performance, resilience to external shocks
The Economy Ministry expects solid results from efforts meant to modernize enterprises and various other branches of the economy, including the sphere of services, hi-tech industry, pharmaceutics industry, and biotechnology industry...

Chervyakov appointed Belarus’ economy minister
Up to the present moment, Aleksandr Chervyakov worked as first deputy economy minister. The minister’s position was vacant after the appointment of Dmitry Krutoi as first vice premier...

Belarus government approves economic development action plan for 2020
A separate block of measures is to create favorable conditions for investors. The plans are to improve investment legislation, develop an FDI attraction strategy through 2025, and to work out Belarus’ infrastructure development plan through 2025...

U.S. secretary of state postpones visit to Belarus
“Due to the ongoing situation around the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will have to stay in Washington D.C. in the near future. Secretary Pompeo’s trip to Belarus slated for 4 January will be rescheduled. We are discussing a new date for the visit with our American colleagues”...

Belarus president wants negotiations on oil deliveries from Russia finished within hours
After the meeting Chairman of the Belarusian state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim Andrei Rybakov said that in continuation of the phone conversations Aleksandr Lukashenko gave instructions to finish negotiations between commercial entities of Belarus and Russia within hours and sign contracts on oil deliveries to Belarus in order to ensure the uninterrupted operation of two Belarusian oil refineries...

Lukashenko, Putin discuss oil and gas supplies over phone
“In continuation of yesterday's conversation, the heads of state discussed the issue of hydrocarbon supplies, paying special attention to the supplies of oil to Belarus,” the press service said...

Belarus’ central bank sets goals for 2020
The goals to ensure price and financial stability are traditional for most central banks. Inflation is forecast within 5%...

Lukashenko talks to Putin over phone
The second part of the conversation lasted for over one hour and was dedicated to agreeing specific volumes, deadlines, and prices for supplies of hydrocarbons and other kinds of raw materials...