Business news

MINSK, 9 November (BelTA) – The Belarusian economy will expand by about 1.7% in 2017, IMF mission chief for Belarus Peter Dohlman told the media on 9 November, BelTA has learned.

“We suppose that the economic growth will reach about 1.7% in 2017 and will stay at about 2% in the midterm,” the IMF mission chief for Belarus. Earlier, the IMF projected Belarus’ GDP growth at 0.7% in 2017.

According to Peter Dohlman, the restoring economic growth that is observed in Belarus this year is largely to considerably improved foreign economic conditions. “It is also a result of decisive steps undertaken by the government over the past two years and a half to stabilize the economy. The government had to take a number of difficult decisions, including the measures to toughen the fiscal policy and to ensure the further liberalization of consumer prices. As a result, we again see an increase in consumption and investment, a stable exchange rate, and a record low inflation rate,” said the IMF mission head for Belarus.

He also noted that the vulnerability factors remain significant for the Belarusian economy. The fund suggests that the Belarusian government take into account three priority areas of activity. “First of all, Belarus needs to continue its economic policy aimed at ensuring macroeconomic stability and stability of the financial sector. Secondly, the government needs to accelerate the implementation of in-depth reforms in the sector of state-run enterprises and create conditions for the private sector to play a more important role and be a driving force behind the economic growth. Thirdly, it is imperative that the government should ensure greater support for those who will be most affected during the transition from an economy dominated by state-owned enterprises to a more market oriented economy. This is the number one priority for the IMF. Such measures should include temporary unemployment benefits, personnel retraining and other programs of active measures on the labor market,” Peter Dohlman said.

According to the head of the mission, Belarus needs to make use of the current favorable foreign economic conditions and its economic recovery period to lay down a more solid foundation for economic growth. “With a more reliable economic policy and accelerated reforms in place, the IMF experts believe that the economic growth in the country can reach 4% and higher in the midterm,” he said.

The IMF mission is in Belarus from 26 October to 10 November to discuss the country’s economic situation and the preparations for the annual consultations under Article IV.