MINSK, 6 October (BelTA) - Belarus aims for economic growth not lower than the global average and accelerated investment development over the next five years, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Belarus’ National Bank Andrei Kartun told the media in Minsk on 6 October, BelTA learned.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed an order to set up a working group to finalize the draft 2026-2030 Socioeconomic Development Program. The group includes delegates of the Belarusian People’s Congress, current and former heads of government agencies, organizations in the real economy, the academic community and public associations. Chairman of the Board of the National Bank Roman Golovchenko was appointed head of the group. Belarus’ National Bank hosted the first meeting of the working group on 6 October.
"A great deal of work has already been done by the government, and the approaches to forming the five-year program have already been generally approved, including by the president. We will review the program once again to see what indicators can be revised upward. The most important thing is that the document must be easily readable and intelligible for the maximum number of citizens, while at the same time setting out as specifically as possible the tasks for state bodies and the government, outlining what they will be working on for the next five years,” Andrei Kartun said.
According to him, there are certain questions regarding the chosen priorities. "We will consult with experts to determine what needs to be done. The most important thing is the substance. Perhaps we should avoid spreading ourselves too thin or listing 20 to 30 tasks in each section of the document. It would be better to set two or three specific, substantial, and universally understandable tasks. However, for example, if we are talking about digitalization, then we should formulate a specific goal for everyone to understand the level of a digital economy we want to achieve. We will discuss this. Or, for instance, demographic trends … Which way to go to reverse them. Perhaps here we will need to set a very ambitious goal regarding family support measures or in some other areas. In terms of technological development, we also cannot try to address everything at once. That would mean vague objectives. Meanwhile, we must have concrete tasks. Essentially, we seek new key industries that will drive the country's economy in five years,” Andrei Kartun noted.
According to him, the core message of the five-year program is economic growth not lower than the global average. “This principle, essentially, remains in place. But the most important thing is to ensure accelerated investment development, making sure that investments outpace the rate of economic growth, which creates the foundation for future stable growth. According to Belarus' national strategy for sustainable development through 2040, we have set the goal of entering the top 50 countries in terms of GDP per capita at purchasing power parity. We have every chance of achieving this. So we need to understand what we will focus on in the next five years to significantly accelerate this process," Andrei Kartun emphasized.
Defining the challenges facing the economy is one of the tasks of the five-year program, he noted. “These include the geopolitical situation, certain turbulence in key sales markets, and so on. Our task is, on one hand, to set ambitious development plans for ourselves, and on the other hand, to understand how the economy can adapt to various shocks and be prepared for them. We do not deny that there are risks to the economy, but our task is to lay the foundation and draw up a map of measures for different scenarios,” he concluded.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed an order to set up a working group to finalize the draft 2026-2030 Socioeconomic Development Program. The group includes delegates of the Belarusian People’s Congress, current and former heads of government agencies, organizations in the real economy, the academic community and public associations. Chairman of the Board of the National Bank Roman Golovchenko was appointed head of the group. Belarus’ National Bank hosted the first meeting of the working group on 6 October.
"A great deal of work has already been done by the government, and the approaches to forming the five-year program have already been generally approved, including by the president. We will review the program once again to see what indicators can be revised upward. The most important thing is that the document must be easily readable and intelligible for the maximum number of citizens, while at the same time setting out as specifically as possible the tasks for state bodies and the government, outlining what they will be working on for the next five years,” Andrei Kartun said.
According to him, there are certain questions regarding the chosen priorities. "We will consult with experts to determine what needs to be done. The most important thing is the substance. Perhaps we should avoid spreading ourselves too thin or listing 20 to 30 tasks in each section of the document. It would be better to set two or three specific, substantial, and universally understandable tasks. However, for example, if we are talking about digitalization, then we should formulate a specific goal for everyone to understand the level of a digital economy we want to achieve. We will discuss this. Or, for instance, demographic trends … Which way to go to reverse them. Perhaps here we will need to set a very ambitious goal regarding family support measures or in some other areas. In terms of technological development, we also cannot try to address everything at once. That would mean vague objectives. Meanwhile, we must have concrete tasks. Essentially, we seek new key industries that will drive the country's economy in five years,” Andrei Kartun noted.
According to him, the core message of the five-year program is economic growth not lower than the global average. “This principle, essentially, remains in place. But the most important thing is to ensure accelerated investment development, making sure that investments outpace the rate of economic growth, which creates the foundation for future stable growth. According to Belarus' national strategy for sustainable development through 2040, we have set the goal of entering the top 50 countries in terms of GDP per capita at purchasing power parity. We have every chance of achieving this. So we need to understand what we will focus on in the next five years to significantly accelerate this process," Andrei Kartun emphasized.
Defining the challenges facing the economy is one of the tasks of the five-year program, he noted. “These include the geopolitical situation, certain turbulence in key sales markets, and so on. Our task is, on one hand, to set ambitious development plans for ourselves, and on the other hand, to understand how the economy can adapt to various shocks and be prepared for them. We do not deny that there are risks to the economy, but our task is to lay the foundation and draw up a map of measures for different scenarios,” he concluded.
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