MINSK, 25 April (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke about plans to bring in migrant workers to Belarus, including from Pakistan, BelTA has learned.
The head of state commented on one of the topics that is being discussed on the Internet after his talks with the leaders of Pakistan: “We did have such a conversation, they raised the topic of labor resources, as they have them in excess, and we do not have enough.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that many countries and regions, including the European Union and Russia, are struggling with the shortage of labor resources. “Naturally, the European Union, Russia, and, probably, Belarus will have to accept the fact that people from other countries, mostly Asian nations, will work here. During the negotiations with the Pakistanis, we agreed that we will draft a program that will be approved by an intergovernmental agreement. In other words, we need to develop a mechanism to prevent the things that some are trying to scare us with,” the president said.
He remarked that some are exploiting this topic in order to rile up the Belarusian society. That said, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that labor productivity in Belarus is still two to three times lower than that in the European Union. “This is an unpopular thing to say, but let's face it: if some people here are afraid of foreigners, let these people do the work of two or even three workers. And in the next 10-15 years workforce will not be an issue. Do we want this? Not really. This is not a popular thing to say, but at least it's honest,” the Belarusian president said.
“If we want our country, our people to survive, be sovereign and independent, build a museum celebrating the history of Belarusian statehood and our nation, we should focus on economy. Economy is about people. If we want to work, manage processes, we should not be afraid [of migrants from other countries]. We will have, say, 60 or 100 foreigners per a thousand people. This is a normal thing. In general, we have enough workforce. And if we need to address labor shortage in some industries, we will thoroughly check each migrant worker before inviting them to live on this most beautiful land - Belarusian land. Those who want to work are welcome here, no matter what country they come from,” the Belarusian leader said.
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