MINSK, 11 February (BelTA) – Belarus will keep strengthening its security, defense and law enforcement agencies to the extent proportional to new challenges and threats, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he addressed the 6th Belarusian People's Congress in Minsk on 11 February, BelTA has learned.
“Belarus has never flexed its military muscle. However, we are consistently building up competencies in which we can succeed, we are strengthening our own security and boosting the export of defense products. Moreover, we are able to successfully compete even with recognized defense industry leaders in several international market niches. This generates billions of dollars for one of the most advanced national manufacturing clusters,” the president said.
Belarus produces special optics for space and is building its rocket-making industry from scratch. “When we ventured into this industry, not so long ago, we didn't have the necessary competencies. But we invested a great deal of effort, joined forces, put together, bit by bit, the necessary materials and knowledge and with the help of our friends we have developed our own rocket, which is a pain in the neck for many foreign politicians and military people. We will keep it up,” the head of state added.
The country has its own software to operate military systems, which protects equipment from cyber-attacks. A reliable public security system has been built inside the country. Belarus does not need to reform its national security system,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “We will continue strengthening our uniformed agencies proportionally to new challenges and threats,” he assured.
At the same time, the president admitted that Belarus cannot afford investing in the defense industry as much as some other European countries. “We cannot pour such an amount of investment and we will not do it because we are not going to attack anyone and because weapons for an offensive are much more expensive than weapons for defense,” the head of state said.
The president is confident that Belarus will be able to defend itself with even fewer resources, if it relies on its experience and help from neighboring Russia. “Losing Belarus is deadly for Russia,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded.
