R. Golovchenko: economy improves. President meets with Prime Minister

2 ноября 2020

Today the Belarusian leader met with Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko. The focus is on the economy.

The world is in a state of uncertainty. And even more vigilance and determination is required from the government in its actions in order not to miss a single opportunity in these difficult conditions. We are not reaching the level of last year. The reasons for this are coronavirus and the closed borders in connection with the pandemic, tax maneuver in the oil industry, and the difficult internal political situation. The government focuses on improving the quality of life of Belarusians. At the meeting, it was noted that more and more people are beginning to appreciate what they have.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus: “Frankly, I would like our economy to work at least no worse than that of the countries around us this year.“

“Of course, it’s important to keep the GDP level of last year. The main thing is to sell the goods.”

The President also inquired about the development forecast for 2021, asking to briefly report on this topic.

“Because we will meet in a wider composition and discuss our plans for 2021. Well, we will already outline our five-year plan at the All-Belarusian People's Assembly.”

Alexander Lukashenko was also interested in the situation at enterprises, where, among other things, people from abroad tried to sway the situation by issuing ultimatums and calling for strikes.

“Well, they saw those who wanted to come to power. This is also useful. This is a good lesson from recent events.”

The Prime Minister confirmed that absolutely all large and medium-sized enterprises are operating normally and fulfilling contracts, which, no doubt, is only a plus for our economy. Thanks to this, the situation not only stabilized, but is also improving. No one knows what the second wave of the pandemic is preparing for us, warns Roman GolOvchenko. This year it has grown quite well at the expense of agriculture, construction, the financial sector and communications. In the third quarter, they practically caught up with the pace of last year.

Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of Belarus: “In general, the economy of Belarus feels better than the economy of the region as a whole, also thanks to the well-considered and targeted measures to support economic growth that are being taken in the country. The task of reaching 100% economic growth is quite tense, it is necessary to find additional resources. Against the background of the fall of the economies of our neighbors, it is difficult, but possible to maintain the pace. The government is determined to fulfill this task,” the Prime Minister noted. He explained that such circumstances mean the absence of a complete lockdown and toughening of quarantine measures for the main trade and economic partners of Belarus. “We hope that the economic contraction will not be too strong, because we are very tied to foreign markets.”

Despite external factors, the social obligations taken by the state are being fulfilled. This means pensions, benefits, subsidies, sick leaves are paid on time and in full. It was possible to prevent an increase in unemployment. As for the rise in prices, the Prime Minister considers any single-digit figure (that is, up to 10%) to be a good result under the current conditions. Inflation is explained by the depreciation of the Russian ruble and its impact on the prices of imported goods. As a reminder, following the results of 9 months, the indicator slightly exceeded 6%.