Opinions & Interviews

The head of state noted that the annual State of the Nation Address is not a long-term development strategy for the country. This will be discussed at the forthcoming fifth All-Belarusian People’s Congress. Today’s talk, according to the President, will focus on the near-term prospects and concrete goals for 2016. “I attach special significance to this year. So do you. There are a lot of reasons for this. First of all, this year starts a new five-year period of development. It should become a turning point in overcoming the negative trends in the economy,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.

The President drew attention to the fact that in the last 2 or 3 years the pace of economic development has slowed down. “The external factors were mainly to blame for this. Still we need to recognize that we had made mistakes too. We are lagging behind the advanced countries by the level of productivity, cost of energy, materials, and ultimately the competitiveness of goods and services. To counter threats to our economic security, we must be enterprising and well-organized. We must mobilize all the resources and skills to operate effectively. We have talked about this many times,” the head of state said. Alexander Lukashenko reminded that the year 2016 will be a serious test for all branches of power and administrative structures. It will show who is capable of overcoming difficulties

Among other important events of the year, the President named such political events as the parliamentary elections. The importance of this political campaign for the country is unquestionable. It will be a test for the political standards of our society, the President noted.