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Economy
18 January 2018, 12:20

SMEs expected to create more new jobs in Belarus in 2018

MINSK, 18 January (BelTA) – The Belarusian Economy Ministry forecasts a growth of jobs in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in 2018, Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky said in an interview to the Respublika newspaper, BelTA has learned.

“The trend of the previous years, when the number of people employed in the economy was on a decline, will be overcome in 2018. According to the government forecasts, the number of jobs will increase. The state sector will also continue the process of creating new jobs. The measures taken to stimulate business activity will help revive other sectors. Today, people in the country can be hired, do business, or work for themselves, which means be self-employed. “The Taxes and Duties Ministry states that the number of self-employed people has significantly increased over the two months since the decree came into force. We expect a growth of jobs in the SMEs sector,” he stressed. This will happen also thanks to the business climate improving measures.

Decree No.8 was adopted in Belarus in late 2017. “Some people say that the decree was developed only for the IT sector. This is not true. The decree creates favorable conditions for the penetration of information technologies into industry, agriculture and the social sector and the creation of new business models. I think that the range of innovative and high-tech startups in the country will increase substantially in the coming years. The vast majority of them are oriented towards foreign markets. This will help strengthen the position of Belarus in the international labor division system, in its most attractive niches in the first place,” the minister said.

According to Vladimir Zinovsky, the implementation of Decree No. 8 and the ensuing development of the start-up movement will create “social lifts” for talented youth. “They will not have to go abroad ‘in search of happiness'. Their intelligence and resourcefulness will work for the benefit of Belarus. This is a significant social aspect,” he said.

The minister offered his opinion on the topic of cryptocurrencies. “I think that in the near future in Belarus, as in other countries, the cryptocurrencies will not be able to fully replace the national currencies because they, by definition, do not perform all the functions of the money. In its essence they are a product or an asset rather than a universal medium of exchange transactions. Therefore, for those who are considering the cryptocurrency as an investment, I would like to say that transactions with them are risky, there is a likelihood of serious losses,” Vladimir Zinovsky noted.

For the economy of Belarus the most interesting technology is the blockchain technology. “With its help we can implement projects such as smart contracts, decentralized organizations, programmable objects. I think that this technology has a huge potential. It will help optimize the costs of corporate and public governance and will have a positive impact on the development of the digital economy in the country,” he said.

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