MINSK, 22 June (BelTA) – The unity of people helps maintain peace in the country, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at the 5th Belarusian People's Congress on 22 June, BelTA has learned.
The head of state noted that the unity of the nation and mobilization of all its forces are the things needed to weather difficult times and even prevent them, maintain peace in the country and save the country itself.
Many noticed that the Belarusian People's Congress coincides with the important date in the Belarusian history, 22 June. “It is a truly symbolic, tragic and telling date. The most horrible and bloody war in the history of mankind began 75 years ago. We remember its lessons very well,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.
“The main lesson is that any, even the biggest, problem can be overcome together. If the nation gets united against difficulties, any obstacles are surmountable, any goals are achievable,” the President said.
The President reminded the delegates of another important lesson of the past. “We cannot be negligent and self-assured. We cannot take a carefree attitude toward the future. We must not allow others catch us flatfooted as it happened in those years. We need to foresee and prevent the danger,” Alexander Lukashenko said.
Today there is peace and order in the Belarus. “We live on our land. We live modestly, but we have everything we need. We have seen, on the example of our neighbors, that peace is the greatest value. It can be lost easily: the road from peace to war can be very short,” the Belarusian leader warned.
Belarus gives high priority to its defensive capacity and security. The national security concept and the new Military Doctrine have been recently adopted. They contain the main goals and areas of activity with the focus on the present-day threats and challenges. “The main thing for our state is a peaceful multi-pronged foreign policy,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.
Lukashenko: International security mechanisms are degradingThe President noted that the fight of the states for leading positions and control of the raw materials markets has intensified. The geopolitical centers of power strive to expand their strategic zones of influence, thus damaging and blocking the interests of other states, sparking tensions and contributing to the aggravation of interstate conflicts.
Lukashenko urges advanced development strategy for BelarusWe have inherited the gap with advanced countries in economic efficiency and we are still lagging behind. Moreover, this gap may become worse. Therefore, the most important task of the government is to overcome the negative trend by adopting a set of effective measures, which we have recently agreed on, the President said.
Belarus to implement over 80 investment projects in 2016-2020"Efficient investment is the main source for the country's GDP growth. In 2016-2020 we need to implement over 80 big investment projects to the total tune of more than billion, attract at least billion of foreign resources, including China's credit lines and direct investment. This is our main investor,” the head of state said.
Lukashenko names reasons for economic slowdown in Belarus in 2011-2015“We must acknowledge that the period from 2011 to 2015 was a difficult one. Not all the plans were fulfilled. What happened in the past few years? What are the reasons for the slowdown? The gross domestic product of the European Union fell in 2013. The economic growth of our main partner, Russia, slowed down. All that limited Belarus' ability to boost its export and output. This is the main reason for not hitting some of the forecast targets,” Alexander Lukashenko noted.
Belarus viewed as citadel of traditional culture and moral valuesOur aim is not self-isolation or confrontation to other cultures but interaction and mutual enrichment. I would like to emphasize that the distinctive features of the Belarusian people are mutual respect, opposition to all forms of ethnic hostility, Alexander Lukashenko stressed.