Business news

MINSK, 29 April (BelTA) – Belarus will adopt important economic decisions by the end of the year in order to secure new factors for the country’s economic growth, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in his annual address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly on 29 April, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that the reasons for the current difficult economic situation in the country are evident. These are the sanctions against Belarus’ main trading partner, a drop in oil prices, the Russian ruble devaluation and the Russian market contraction. These all led to a sharp decrease in the exports to Belarus’ key markets of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the whole post-Soviet space.

“We live in a global world and our economy is open. The neighbors’ problems immediately become our problems. It is an objective side of these crisis developments,” the head of state said.

Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that the world economy has radically changed over the past 20 years and the industrial economy is gradually substituted by the economy of knowledge and services. “We are facing a similar issue. We should acknowledge that we are lagging behind,” the head of state noted.

The President believes that there is one more reason for the current problems, i.e. the quality and labor productivity which are not always competitive enough.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, it is only a schematic picture of the current situation. However, in his words, it is very important since the clear understanding of the roots of the problems can help find solutions faster.

“When answering the people’s most sensitive questions, saying that we would keep the ruble exchange rate and prices under control and preserve jobs is not enough. A much more important thing is to show how we will do it,” the Belarusian leader stressed.