MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) - Enterprises subordinate to the Belarusian Industry Ministry have been increasing both output and exports, Industry Minister Piotr Parkhomchik told the media after the meeting of the Council of Ministers, hosted by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 9 August to discuss the functioning of the country's economy under sanctions and measures to overcome them, BelTA has learned.
“The president set forth clear objectives for industrial enterprises for 2022. Today, it was an interim meeting to assess the performance of the country's industrial enterprises. I want to say that the industrial sector has been doing well so far. We practically met all the indicators in H1. We can already see that the output and exports will keep momentum in January-July. We are confident that we will be able to maintain these rates by the end of September,” Piotr Parkhomchik said.
There are difficulties but they are all solvable, the minister said. “The president set forth instructions on import substitution. Today as part of our cooperation with the Russian Federation we are considering 14 investment programs. Most of them concern enterprises subordinate to the Industry Ministry. It is very important to work out these documents carefully and do it on time in order to obtain funding from the Russian Federation. Here, there are certain difficulties and challenges because most of the innovative projects were based on equipment produced in European countries. It is clear that we will not get this equipment in the near future. Therefore, we have to find equipment in other countries,” the minister said.
According to him, there is an alternative. “The People's Republic of China is developing very rapidly and the embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working in this direction. I think our investment projects will find the end equipment manufacturers, which will help our enterprises re-equip and make further progress,” Piotr Parkhomchik added.
