MINSK, 22 November (BelTA) – Grodno Oblast needs to build wood processing enterprises, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he received Chairman of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee Vladimir Karanik and President's Aide – Inspector for Grodno Oblast Yuri Karayev, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko inquired how the regional economy is doing, especially in the face of sanctions pressure from the West. "They have imposed the sanctions against us. They are trying to strangle us economically, trying to tighten the noose around us. So what's the situation? What kind of support is needed?" the president asked.
The head of state also touched on the export. He noted that this year the situation in foreign markets has been favorable for Belarusian enterprises. They pursued a smart policy during the pandemic, Aleksandr Lukashenko stated. "If the enterprises had gone into full lockdown, the results would have been different. Europe has gone into lockdowns again. Let them. We will sell them whatever we can. I'm not gloating in this regard. You need to help people, there's no other way. Today we helped someone, tomorrow they will help us. Therefore, we need to help," the president emphasized.
Speaking about investments and new projects, the head of state proposed to pay attention to the woodworking industry. Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that several years ago Belarus began to modernize these industries. Recently the government has been instructed to work out options for the construction of new enterprises: the existing ones are not coping with the processing demand. "We need to process everything. Some forests have overmatured, and there is a lot of such forests today," he said. "Therefore, we need to promote woodworking, especially since we know how to do it. The demand for timber will always be there."
"You also need to look into this. We need to build several more wood processing enterprises,” the president believes. “We can manufacture everything - from pellets to furniture. There are no forests to the south of us. The whole world will use woodworking products, they will do without it. These are houses, furniture, and so on."
