Belarusian People’s Congress

MINSK, 23 June (BelTA) – The agenda and key ideas of the Belarusian People’s Congress should be brought up for nationwide discussion, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in the concluding speech of the 5^th Belarusian People’s Congress on 23 June, BelTA has learned.

Belarus’ social and economic development program for 2016-2020 will be the foundation for making decisions in the future. The head of state stressed that the program has determined the prospects, has sketched out the ways we will use to reach targeted goals. “Since life is very diverse, we are likely to run into an abundance of other issues. We will have to make multiple decisions outside the scope of the program while certainly bearing the program’s provisions in mind,” the President emphasized and asked to have a broader view on the tasks.

Alexander Lukashenko pointed out that the Belarusian People’s Congress has been convened in the crucial period, in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, which will have a significant impact on the future of the country. “Once again I want to state firmly: no one except the Belarusian people can choose how we live, develop, what laws we have, and what MPs and other authorities we elect. Only the Belarusian nation has the right to make such decisions,” the head of state said.

The second day of the forum began with the speeches of the delegates and guests. They touched upon a wide range of social and economic development issues. When commenting on a number of speeches, the President pointed out a major role of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in the use of innovations in the production process, spoke about the development of rural areas, voiced his opinion regarding the optimization of the state apparatus, and made an emphasis on the enhancement of executive discipline. Besides, the head of state demanded to make maximum efforts to replace imports.

Speaking about the results of the 5^th Belarusian People’s Congress, the President remarked that the forum has obviously demonstrated that grassroots democracy is the most important instrument for making fateful decisions in Belarus.

Alexander Lukashenko thanked all the organizers of the Belarusian People’s Congress, and the delegates for support, understanding, active participation in the preparation and passing of crucial documents. The participants of the forum approved a long-term strategy of the country’s development and outlined key priorities of innovative development and economic modernization. The delegates unanimously approved the resolution of the 5^th Belarusian People’s Congress and the address to compatriots.

The agenda and key ideas of the 5^th Belarusian People’s Congress should be brought up for nationwide discussion, the head of state noted. The entire country should mobilize material and intellectual resources to address important issues. The President asked the delegates, MPs, heads of enterprises and organizations to monitor this work. Alexander Lukashenko gave an instruction to supervise the fulfillment of resolutions passed at the Belarusian People’s Congress and emphasized that people making phones calls to the hotline should have their questions answered.

At the end of his speech Alexander Lukashenko wished all the delegates and guests health, happiness, wellbeing, and prosperity.