Events

‘Not just about paycheck’: Lukashenko explains why Uzbek workers come to Belarus

MINSK, 21 July (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko once again addressed the topic of bringing workers from Uzbekistan to Belarus as he hosted a nationwide video conference to discuss the 2026 harvest campaign on 21 July, BelTA has learned

The Belarusian leader emphasized that the president of Uzbekistan had asked him not only about employment of people, but primarily about supplying meat and milk. “They lack land and they lack water. There are insufficient water resources. We have plenty of both land and water. We can produce meat and milk,” the head of state said.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the parties have reached an agreement on having workers from Uzbekistan come to Belarus to speed up and streamline the delivery of the required agricultural goods. This applies not only to Vitebsk Oblast, which is currently most actively involved in implementing the relevant plans.

In order to ramp up agricultural production to meet increased supply volumes, additional labor is needed. However, Belarus has a staffing shortage in this regard. Therefore, a procedure and system for attracting foreign workers have been developed.

“If your people [from Uzbekistan] go through this system of ours as everything is all under control, we will treat them as our own people in Belarus. Not just so they can earn money and get a good salary, but to produce meat and milk,” the president shared details of the agreements. “We will produce meat and milk and sell these commodities on their market. That's where the wages come from.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that if someone intends to come to Belarus expecting to earn “huge money” equivalent to several thousand dollars, they would be better off considering, for example, employment options in Russia: “They can get jobs there in the oil fields or in other sectors, work, and earn a big salary.”

“They will come to us for one purpose, namely to produce meat, milk, and other agricultural products and deliver them back to their homeland. The higher the productivity is, the more goods they produce, the higher their pay will be. They can dispose of their earnings as they wish,” the president said.

In turn, Belarus will provide such workers with the full range of social services and guarantees. “As for healthcare and education, they will have the same rights as Belarusians. That also comes at a cost, and not a small one,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Addressing the regional governors, the president said that local authorities must decide for themselves whether they need to bring in foreign workers in any given sector. The main thing is to fully meet the set targets. “If you don't need outside help, don’t take it. I’m not forcing you to hire them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.