NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 24 May (BelTA) - Sanctions directly affected a quarter of the Belarusian economy in 2022, Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov said at a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus on 24 May, BelTA has learned.
“Last year was a test of strength. Sanctions directly affected a quarter of the economy, and indirectly affected all other sectors. The situation required urgent, extraordinary and sometimes risky decisions. We acted bearing in mind two presidential principles - prompt decisions and control over their implementation,” Nikolai Snopkov said.
In fact, the government worked to fulfill two basic tasks set by the head of state. The first one was to ensure the stable operation of enterprises. The second was to make sure that ordinary people do not feel the negative effects of external pressure. “At the same time, we were laying the groundwork to keep moving forward, to grow the economy, and to achieve the tasks that the president set at the Belarusian People's Congress. The government appreciates the efficiency of cooperation with the parliament in implementing the most important tasks for the state. Thanks to our joint actions under the leadership of the president we managed to solve the most difficult problems of the last year,” the first deputy prime minister said.
“As a result, despite the initial estimates of the effect of the sanctions on the economy at minus 20%, the GDP actually contracted by 4.7% in 2022. The GDP growth rate is recovering this year. In January-April 2023, it was at 99.4% to the previous year's level. GDP grew 0.8% in March and 3.8% in April,” Nikolai Snopkov added.
