Opinion: President will set economic cooperation priorities in annual address to nation

BREST, 30 March (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko will set economic cooperation priorities in his annual Address to the Belarusian people and the Parliament, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Policy of the House of Representatives Leonid Brich told BelTA.

The MP stressed that the economy is a key aspect in the life of the state. Its development amid the West's sanctions pressure acquires strategic importance. “I am sure that economic performance both within the country and in foreign markets will be touched upon during the address. The president will tell us what to expect in the area of economic development taking into account the changing political situation,” Leonid Brich said.

According to the MP, Belarus will aim at closer cooperation with Russia within the Union State, with China and other Asian countries, as well as African states. “The head of state's recent visits to China, Zimbabwe and Iran show that cooperation with these countries will be developing. There will be closer integration within the Union State on all fronts. Exports will be increasing. We can see that over the past years the share of export to Russia has been around 40%, and exceeded 55% in 2022,” Leonid Brich added.

The MP said that Belarus is interested in the experience of Iran, which has long been living under sanctions. “Cooperation with Iran will help us learn how to develop our technology amid sanctions without looking back at the West. According to the February results, we can see that the GDP has started to grow. There is every reason to reach the set parameters of the country social and economic development by the end of the year. The refinancing rate will decrease for the second time this year: it will be reduced by 0.5% to 10.5% on 3 April. This shows that the inflation rate will be maintained within the set parameters,” the chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Policy said.