News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 14 January (BelTA) – The efficiency of the protection of the country’s economic interests at the border should be thoroughly studied, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at the government’s session concerning the approval of the resolution on the protection of the state border by border protection agencies on 14 January, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko instructed head of the Belarus President’s Administration Alexander Kosinets to set up a group of independent experts to study the implementation of the president’s instructions regarding the protection of economic interests at the border. The President added that the matter concerns duties, permits, tariff and nontariff regulations. According to Alexander Lukashenko, it is needed to protect the domestic market.

Belarus has always attached its close attention to the protection of the state border and border security in general and especially in the present-day time. According to the head of state, the economic aspect is high on the agenda of today’s meeting. “The border means not only security but also big economy. These are taxes, the state budget,” said the President. That is why today's session is also attended by representatives of the civil part of the Security Council.

The President expressed concerns regarding the consumer market of Belarus being flooded with imported goods. “People should understand that imported clothes mean not only big money from their purse but also the absence of work in the country,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed. The President is confident that the issue can be addressed only with the efforts to invigorate the national industry, take it to the corresponding level. The head of state is confident that national goods can and should be of the same high quality with the imports, and at the same time they should be cheaper.

Alexander Lukashenko summed up that the protection of economic interests at the Belarusian state border is a serious issue that should be studied in order to save the domestic market for the national manufacturers.