Prime Minister of Belarus Aleksandr Turchin has explained on the air of the TV channel Belarus One on what the Government will rely on as it develops the country’s economy.
In the near future the Government definitely has to accomplish tasks relating to export promotion, in particular, the diversification of shipments, Aleksandr Turchin said. “We need to be present on many markets and try to promote our products. This is why taking into account the decisions that have been made I’d provide preliminary evaluations of the economy’s performance this year after four months have passed. Taking into account various kinds of trends they would be more or less understandable. After four months we will understand what parameters we are likely to achieve as a result of this year,” he remarked.
The development of the country will also focus on the capabilities that resources offer, the Prime Minister pointed out. “I mean the resource capabilities inside the country are state finance, the banking system, proprietary assets of commercial entities, and possible foreign investments,” the head of Government explained. Anticipating various questions regarding the raising of foreign investments, Aleksandr Turchin said that investors, who will make a contribution to various spheres of Belarus’ economy, including the manufacturing sector, may be presented this year.
Also Aleksandr Turchin has explained whether the country’s economy will get new growth drivers within the next five years.
The manufacturing sector has been a factor driving the growth of the Belarusian economy for several years already. According to Aleksandr Turchin, its influence will not get much weaker within the next five years. “On the other hand, we see that traditional branches of our economy are getting close to the ceiling of what they can accomplish from the point of view of the workload of manufacturing facilities and other factors. Increasing the efficiency of the traditional economy is a task we have to accomplish and this task is not going anywhere. But in my opinion the development and establishment of new branches of the economy should produce an effect in the next five-year term after all,” he is convinced.
The head of Government remarked that Belarusians definitely have something to aspire for in the sphere of services. Aleksandr Turchin also said he hopes that the Hi-Tech Park will be rebooted in the new five-year term. “I would like it to get back to past high parameters in the next five-year term after all,” he noted.
The Prime Minister also mentioned the sphere of tourism. “We should seriously approach the regulation of this industry as well as the formulation of tasks and their accomplishment. In my opinion, our country’s tourism potential is very large,” the Prime Minister stressed.
Apart from that, according to Aleksandr Turchin, it is necessary to pay attention to the economy branches that have never been considered as economy drivers. “The world is changing so rapidly. This is why no option should be discarded,” the head of Government pointed out. “Every minister should present their own proposals on how their economy branch will develop. I emphasize: not how they will function but how they will develop, making a contribution of their own to the development of the state as a whole.”
According to the Prime Minister, the President said that meetings meant to discuss the development of the program on Belarus’ social and economic development in 2026-2030 will be held more than once because it is a fundamental document that will be adopted by the Belarusian People’s Congress. “It is the first program that will be adopted by the Belarusian People’s Congress after this assembly received its new status. This is why it is certainly very important. It is a document that will guide our lives for the next five years,” he stressed.
Moreover, Aleksandr Turchin said that it was necessary to put together a list of goods, prices for which people are most worried about.
The development of a concept of the program on Belarus’ social and economic development in 2026-2030 was discussed at a conference hosted by Prime Minister of Belarus Aleksandr Turchin last week. He stressed that in the course of preparing the document it is necessary to carry out a large-scale sociological survey because it is necessary to understand what problems worry the society and what priorities the Government should focus on as it deals with these problems. “The questionnaire of the sociological survey is very important for us,” the Prime Minister noted. He added that the first few variants may be presented by the end of the week.
Speaking about corrections of the pricing system, Aleksandr Turchin remarked that in the course of working out the new pricing formula it is necessary to determine the list of goods, prices for which worry people the most. He stressed that a survey had already been carried out in Minsk Oblast, with medications topping this list. They were unexpectedly followed by apparel while the bronze medal went to pork and poultry meat.
Asked whether the price regulations introduced by resolution No.713 will be rescinded, the Prime Minister said that it is likely that the number of goods the resolution affects will change. “We need to leave the goods that worry people the most. What the President talked about. Within the framework of this list we should formulate some framework or parameters for commercial entities so that manufacturers would not have to seek the oblast administration’s approval every time. Certain parameters should be set to guide their work. If these parameters are exceeded, then some approval should be necessary. Markups for goods on this list will still be regulated. Changes for importers will be introduced. But it seems to me that once we come up with an optimal list of regulated goods, many things will get back to normal on their own,” he is convinced.
According to the head of Government, the essence of the president’s remark about fair prices is justice for all categories involved in this process. “Not only for consumers but also for manufacturers and retailers,” Aleksandr Turchin noted.
