Agriculture, civil engineering, IT seen as drivers of economic growth in Belarus

MINSK, 30 June (BelTA) – Agriculture, civil engineering, and information technologies are drivers of economic growth in Belarus, BelTA learned from Director of the Economics Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vasily Gursky on 30 June.

The official said: “In conditions of international turbulence when uncertainty in the world economy grows stronger it is necessary to pay close attention to the spheres of activities and the industries that cater to people's basic needs. Certainly, it is very good that Belarus has been focusing on food security for many years. At present agriculture is a driver of economic growth along with civil engineering and IT services.”

The scientist underlined that the policy of the country's leadership had allowed minimizing economic consequences of the pandemic. “In essence Belarus has managed to avoid the necessity of having to restart its economy because our enterprises didn't shut down but kept working as well as they could, the borders were opened, commodities were flowing. This is why now it is quite possible to transition to the stage of restoration of economic growth,” he believes.

“It turns out that the coronacrisis is not a purely medical problem but a social and economic one, even a political problem at times. This is why a lot of hope is pinned on economists, who are expected to find ways to secure economic growth,” Vasily Gursky noted.

The Belarusian government has adopted a package of top-priority measures to support the national economy. “The government is now working out measures to support the real sector. In my opinion, it is necessary to support export-oriented enterprises. Measures to protect the national market are needed,” the official noted.

A roundtable session was hosted by the Economics Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus on the occasion of the Economist Day (30 June) to discuss ways to secure Belarusian economy growth amid new challenges and threats. The main goal of the session was to determine opportunities, sources, and ways to ensure Belarus' economic growth in modern conditions, including taking into account consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Representatives of leading scientific and research institutions and economy-related organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and various government agencies took part in the roundtable session.