Business news

MINSK, 30 June (BelTA) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts a gradual recovery of the Belarusian economy in 2018, IMF Mission Chief for Belarus Peter Dohlman told reporters on 30 June, BelTA has learned.

“We expect that the recession in Belarus will continue in 2016 and 2017, and after that the economy will start recovering. We see that the external situation, that is the situation in the countries that are Belarus’ key trading partners, is gradually improving, but the progress is slow. For instance, the prices for primary commodities such as oil are projected to rise at a very moderate pace,” Peter Dohlman noted.

He believes that the main task for the government today is to create conditions for strong economic growth. “State-owned enterprises will pose a considerable challenge in this respect. Many of them already make losses and are unable to compete with other companies on both the domestic and international markets. This is why it is of crucial importance to solve problems in the sector of state-owned companies,” Peter Dohlman explained.

He said that this a very challenging task that will require a considerable amount of time, probably several years. In this light, it is important to ensure the coordination and consistency of actions and build a strong social protection system. “We believe the process will be difficult, and the pace of economic growth in 2016 and 2017 will be slow,” the IMF Mission Chief for Belarus specified.

An IMF mission led by Peter Dohlman visited Belarus from 21 to 30 June to assess the current economic policy and hold annual consultations with authorities under Article IV.