News & Events in Belarus

Belarus president underlines importance of keeping people employed

MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) – Taking into account the complicated conditions of the coronavirus pandemic it is necessary to support people and labor collectives, including those employed by enterprises of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the relevant statement as he received a report from Head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate Viktor Sheiman on 28 May, BelTA has learned.

The head of state wondered about the current situation at the enterprises run by the Belarus President Property Management Directorate. It is only natural that the operation of the enterprises has been affected by the pandemic and its economic consequences. Viktor Sheiman told Aleksandr Lukashenko that the directorate currently runs about 110 enterprises.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Those are people, those are labor collectives, thousands of people… This is why I wonder what the situation is like, what enterprises give most reasons for concern and what negative trends there are.”

The head of state explained that during meetings with heads of national parks and other institutions requests are made to somehow support the people because the economy has stopped, borders are closed, and tourism traffic has slowed down.

“This is why we must not lose people,” the head of state is convinced. Aleksandr Lukashenko said he believes that one can and should support the people taking into account specific situations “maybe for a couple of months until the global economy recovers.”

“It is not up to us. I think in two or three months the economy will resume work in neighboring countries, in Russia, and so on, and people will start moving. But we certainly should support the labor collectives during these months,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.

He pointed out that the same policy should be followed everywhere.

A number of other matters concerning the operation of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate were also discussed during the meeting.

Viktor Sheiman informed Aleksandr Lukashenko in detail about the state of affairs at the enterprises the directorate runs, including the manufacturing sector, agriculture, civil engineering, transport, logistics, and tourism. Viktor Sheiman talked about how enterprises established outside Belarus work. In particular, the manufacturing sector demonstrates a certain decline due to problems with deliveries of components and due to issues with logistics. Hospitality industry and exhibition industry have been hit worst due to objective reasons.

As for economic performance indicators, the added value has increased by 2.1 times from 2019. Labor productivity has increased as well.

Meanwhile, the volume of foreign trade is comparable to that of 2019. Viktor Sheiman also informed Aleksandr Lukashenko about the sowing campaign. In his words, they have sown more than they did last year, the demand for fertilizers was fully satisfied.

Apart from that, the conversation focused on the state of affairs at the enterprises, which are most vulnerable in the current conditions.

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