MINSK, 31 May (BelTA) - In an interview with ONT TV channel, Roman Golovchenko, Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus, explained the factors that contribute to the growth of Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves, BelTA has learned.
As was reported earlier, Belarus' gold and forex reserves went up by $872.7 million in April 2025 to reach a record high of $10.942 billion on 1 May 2025.
“Gold and forex reserves are one of the main indicators of a country's economic security, a so-called safety cushion that the state can use in a difficult economic situation,” said Roman Golovchenko. “We are very close to $11 billion. I think this milestone will be reached in the very near future.”
According to the head of the National Bank, several factors contributed to this growth. The key factor was the correct choice of policy for managing foreign exchange reserves. “The state determines how to store these reserves, in what proportions, and in what assets. They can be completely different. These can be foreign currency, precious stones, precious metals, stocks, bonds. A whole range of instruments is used. The chosen policy for managing gold and foreign exchange reserves has brought us very good income due to the fact that we held a significant part of our assets in monetary gold and other highly liquid assets. Accordingly, the increased value of gold on the world market has played a significant role in strengthening our reserves,” said Roman Golovchenko.
He named the sale of currency by the population and economic entities as the second factor that influenced the growth. Citizens have confidence in the Belarusian ruble.
“The National Bank conducts only targeted interventions, which we use to smooth out certain peak fluctuations. This tool is used very rarely. This is largely due to the stability of our national currency and the significant strengthening of confidence in the national currency on the part of economic entities, legal entities, and households. Moreover, in 2020, the government and the National Bank adopted a strategy to increase confidence in the national currency, which includes a number of specific measures. The ultimate goal is to reduce the use of foreign currency in the country’s economic relations,” said Roman Golovchenko.
This involves abandoning the pegging of rent rates to the foreign currency and a number of prohibitions on settlements in foreign currency. “This applies, for example, to factoring agreements under foreign economic contracts, settlements between residents for energy resources in foreign currency, and so on. We can see a significantly growing confidence in the Belarusian ruble. This is largely due to the fact that we have not allowed any shocks for quite a long time. It is the financial stability in the country that is the key to confidence in the national currency,” Roman Golovchenko added, drawing attention, among other things, to the trend of steady growth in deposits in the national currency.
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