President discusses with government the real sector Belarusian economy

22 августа 2021

Close attention is paid to the work of enterprises and economic processes at the highest level. The President regularly discusses with the Government the  problems of the real sector.  He also considers the need in legislative amendments. Not everyone perceived and understood the anti-lockdown policy a year ago, but today even skeptics admit: the strategy of fighting COVID-19 and actions in the economy was chosen correctly. It worked and made it possible not to fall against the background of the global crisis - on the contrary! The traditional "government day" in the Palace of Independence on Tuesday began with the issue of integration with Russia. The package of integration documents and 28 sectoral union programs have been almost completely agreed upon. In the negotiation process, everyone defends their interests! For Russia, it is a matter of customs and tax regulations. For us, it is a matter of cooperation in the energy sector and access to the Russian market. The Union Council and the Supreme State Council are still ahead of us. Minsk's position on rapprochement is unchanged - it should be done on the basis of equal rights and preserving sovereignty. Together, and this has been felt more acutely recently, it is easier to resist the sanctions press and the consequences of the coronavirus. This was also brought up in the context of the discussion with the President of the draft law "On the Settlement of Insolvency". This is not about putting an end to problem enterprises, but about giving them a second chance. About a year ago the topic was already brought up to the level of the head of state. 

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus:

We agreed on approaches in principle. Then the government was instructed to change the ideology of this document - to move away from bankruptcy to the rehabilitation of troubled enterprises. Also, the concept of the bill has changed - the emphasis is on protecting organizations from shocks caused by unfavorable external factors. I would like to say that overcoming of these shocks is first of all the concern of the labor collectives and the heads of the labor collectives. In addition, it is envisaged that we will move away from judicial support of all stages of economic insolvency cases. The coordinating role in matters of financial recovery will finally concentrate on the government, industry bodies and executive committees.

The draft law will be finalized, but the President asks to involve local authorities as much as possible. After all, it is local authorities that are interested in keeping businesses running. It means jobs and taxes for the region. No one has cancelled the impact of sanctions and the pandemic. But the main task set by the head of state is to minimize this impact. And the government is working on it. As for the economy in general, there is qualitative growth. Over six months, the country's GDP grew by 3.3%. This is mainly due to industry. Since April, the service sector is also recovering. The strategically right decision taken last year - not to stop the enterprises and to keep working - was a plus. As a result, production and human resources have been preserved, which is the basis of the current result.