MINSK, 18 May (BelTA) – A draft concept of the Belarusian social and economic development forecast for 2018 will be submitted to the Council of Ministers before the end of May 2017, Deputy Economy Minister Alexander Chervyakov said at the workshop on the budgetary process in the Republic of Belarus held at the House of Representatives of the National Assembly on 18 May, BelTA has learned.
“The document is in the pipeline. The ministerial working group is holding its meeting next week. The draft concept will be submitted for its consideration. Before the end of the month the document will be submitted to the government,” Alexander Cherbyakov said.
In his words, Belarus is an open-economy country which foreign trading turnover exceeds its GDP by 20%. “The growth of exports is fundamental under these circumstances. The more export earnings we have, the bigger is the potential for increasing the GDP,” the deputy minister said.
In his words, a number of restrictions are taken into account when the forecast is developed. First of all, these are timely and full repayment of the foreign debt, deficit-free budget, keeping gold and forex reserves and the balance of payments at a safe level.