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PM invites IT sector to focus more on Belarusian economy

Sergei Rumas

MINSK, 11 February (BelTA) – The national IT sector needs to be more focused on the Belarusian economy and not the economy of other countries, Belarus’ Prime Minister Sergei Rumas said as he attended the Council of Ministers’ meeting to discuss the country’s social and economic development on 11 February, BelTA has learned.

According to the Belarusian head of government, only one sector, the information and communications one, made a considerable contribution to the country’s economic growth in 2019. In his words, such a situation is typical not only for Minsk with its Hi-Tech Park. “This is an objective reality: structural shifts are taking place both globally and in our economy,” Sergei Rumas said.

The Hi-Tech Park has become an important operator in the Belarusian economy to secure foreign currency inflows in the country. “This is good, but the IT sector needs to work more for the benefit of the Belarusian economy. Yet, the level of cooperation in the area is insufficient inside the country. All the latest developments benefit the economy of other countries,” the prime minister said.

Speaking about other ways to ensure the arrival of new technologies in the country, the prime minister said that foreign direct investments can do this. The FDI attraction forecasts were not fulfilled in 2019. Four regions – Brest Oblast, Vitebsk Oblast, Grodno Oblast, and Minsk Oblast - failed to meet these forecasts. According to Sergei Rumas, the work with investors on sites has slowed down. “Premature and inconsistent decisions lead to serious consequences for the country and, just as importantly, to a significant deterioration in the assessment of investment conditions in Belarus by potential investors,” the PM said. He instructed the Economy Ministry to make a detailed analysis of this work and make suggestions on what can be done to change the work with investors.

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