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Lukashenko meets with Belarus’ first vice premier

MINSK, 6 September (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko held a working meeting with Belarusian First Vice Premier Nikolai Snopkov on 6 September, BelTA has learned.

“China’s direction is your personal responsibility. The second issue is import substitution. The third issue is the transfer of payments for the products supplied. That means the economic and financial block of issues. How does the National Bank, and the government too, help our companies with the transfer of payments for the supplies?” the head of state listed the topics for discussion.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, there are no unsolvable matters here. “I need letters, I need a solution to the problem. If people ask for help, we should help. People can sell their products and get money for it, but there are people who can't. And if someone does not want to work in this situation, you should also make corresponding proposals,” he added.

The president also asked the first deputy prime minister about the operation of some Belarusian enterprises under the sanctions. "According to the reports, some companies seem to be in a worse situation, while others are doing better. We are solving the problems,” he said.

Nikolai Snopkov told the media after the meeting that the issues of cooperation with China were discussed in the run-up of the head of state’s visit to Uzbekistan.  In mid-September, Samarkand will host the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The presidents of Belarus and China are expected to meet on the sidelines of the event.

According to the first vice premier, Belarus-China relations are developing in the most positive way. Mutual trade testifies to the fact. “In January-July the export increased by 97% and the balance improved by almost $700 million, which is very important for us, taking into account the loss of preferential markets - the European Union and Ukraine,” said Nikolai Snopkov.

Speaking about the state of affairs in the Belarusian economy, Nikolai Snopkov said that the trade balance was historically high. “Analysis shows that Belarus’ average monthly export of goods has amounted to $2.5 billion since 2015. In July it was $3.2 billion. That is export, cut off from the European Union and Ukraine, shows historically record volumes in absolute terms in the sanctions year of 2022,” the first deputy prime minister said.

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