MINSK, 20 August (BelTA) - The draft forecast for Belarus' social and economic development 2026 was one of the central topics discussed at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers in Minsk on 20 August, BelTA has learned.
According to Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin, today's meeting will effectively finalize the draft forecast for social and economic development, the monetary policy guidelines, and the national budget 2026 before they are sent to the head of state. All these documents have already been reviewed at a recent meeting of the presidium, so the prime minister believes the final touches will not take much time.
“They have been finalized, and no fundamental changes were made to them. Therefore, we must promptly review these issues, discuss any problematic aspects if there are any, and make a final decision,” he emphasized. “The goal of our economic policy is to ensure a sustainable and, most importantly, balanced growth of our economy. Therefore, forecasting is now our most important task. We must account for potential risks and negative scenarios as much as possible, because there are many surprises in our modern world. At the very least, we need to have a clear understanding of some basic parameters for ourselves, build realistic plans, and demand their unconditional execution.”
Belarusian Economy Minister Yuri Chebotar noted that the presidium will essentially consider the final stage of the holistic planning and forecasting for Belarus's development in the upcoming year. “This year, we have come a long way. We have approved the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, the concept for the social and economic development program for the next five-year period, and state programs. Today, we are reviewing the draft forecast for social and economic development for 2026, so this year we will form a comprehensive vision for the country's development in the next five-year period and have the entire body of documents aligned with these tasks and goals," he noted.
The minister emphasized that the fulfillment of these targets will be achieved through three programs: a manufacturing program, an export program, and an investment program. “Regarding the manufacturing program, we, together with all regulators, have worked out the key points taking into account this year's issues, specifically, with a focus on reducing costs and increasing exports. In particular, concerning exports, we see expanding our presence in [existing] markets as the main goal. We are setting targets for a significant increase of our presence in the markets of CIS countries. After all, these are our close partners; we have planned a growth of just over 12%. Of course, this also includes maintaining our presence in the Russian Federation, our main market, and also in geographically distant countries," the economy minister said.
According to Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin, today's meeting will effectively finalize the draft forecast for social and economic development, the monetary policy guidelines, and the national budget 2026 before they are sent to the head of state. All these documents have already been reviewed at a recent meeting of the presidium, so the prime minister believes the final touches will not take much time.
“They have been finalized, and no fundamental changes were made to them. Therefore, we must promptly review these issues, discuss any problematic aspects if there are any, and make a final decision,” he emphasized. “The goal of our economic policy is to ensure a sustainable and, most importantly, balanced growth of our economy. Therefore, forecasting is now our most important task. We must account for potential risks and negative scenarios as much as possible, because there are many surprises in our modern world. At the very least, we need to have a clear understanding of some basic parameters for ourselves, build realistic plans, and demand their unconditional execution.”
Belarusian Economy Minister Yuri Chebotar noted that the presidium will essentially consider the final stage of the holistic planning and forecasting for Belarus's development in the upcoming year. “This year, we have come a long way. We have approved the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, the concept for the social and economic development program for the next five-year period, and state programs. Today, we are reviewing the draft forecast for social and economic development for 2026, so this year we will form a comprehensive vision for the country's development in the next five-year period and have the entire body of documents aligned with these tasks and goals," he noted.
Regarding 2026, all key forecasts and targets are being considered within the framework of the five-year plan, Yuri Chebotar emphasized. "The gross domestic product is forecast to grow by 2.8%. This is generally comparable to the global economic growth rate. According to forecasts from all analytical agencies, global GDP will rise by 2.7-3%, and we will be within this range. Export growth is expected to be above 3%," he noted.
The minister emphasized that the fulfillment of these targets will be achieved through three programs: a manufacturing program, an export program, and an investment program. “Regarding the manufacturing program, we, together with all regulators, have worked out the key points taking into account this year's issues, specifically, with a focus on reducing costs and increasing exports. In particular, concerning exports, we see expanding our presence in [existing] markets as the main goal. We are setting targets for a significant increase of our presence in the markets of CIS countries. After all, these are our close partners; we have planned a growth of just over 12%. Of course, this also includes maintaining our presence in the Russian Federation, our main market, and also in geographically distant countries," the economy minister said.
The investment program makes the emphasis on construction, particularly that of rental housing, social infrastructure, and on commercial projects. The Economy Ministry expects the main growth to come from the latter. To achieve this, we have improved all major lending programs for the coming year. The Regional Initiative will now be financed at a rate of 7% for 7 years. This is an improvement compared to the current year. We are introducing special financial products for our key sectors. For example, we have created a credit product for the tourism sector at 6% to build accommodation facilities,” Yuri Chebotar said. “Another focus is increasing the efficiency and productivity of the manufacturing sector through robotization. A credit product at 6% is also available for the production of our own robotic complexes.”
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