Business news

MINSK, 13 December (BelTA) – The country’s high-technology manufacturing lacks momentum, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at the Second Congress of Scientists of Belarus in Minsk on 13 December, BelTA has learned.

“In recent years, the share of high-technology industries has grown insignificantly: from 2.5% in 2010 to almost 3% in 2016. The share of low-technology manufacturing still makes up more than a third of the real economic sector, going up from 30% in 2010 to 35% in 2016,” the head of state said.

The share of shipped innovative products was slightly more than 16% in 2016 and 17% this year. “There is a growth but it is insignificant. According to the National Security Concept, this figure should be at least 20%,” the president said.

The share of genuinely innovative Belarusian products, new for the world market, is insignificant - under 2%. According to Alexander Lukashenko, a low pace in the development and implementation of advanced technologies is the reason for such state of affairs.

“Some of domestic enterprises show a weak interest in innovations, while scientific organizations are not aggressive enough in advancing innovations. We will evaluate these trends in an impartial and principled manner at the end of the ongoing five-year period,” the head of state said.