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Devaluation of national currency is blessing for export-oriented economy, Lukashenka says

The devaluation of the national currency is a blessing for an export-oriented economy, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said at a news conference that he held in the National Library in Minsk on Friday.

Devaluation is a "difficult thing," and this is clear from the current situation in the country, the Belarusian leader noted. "However, any process has two sides," he said. "The devaluation of the national currency also has the other side. It is a blessing for an export-oriented economy. And today export-oriented enterprises have decent money."

The rubel was devalued for the first time in 2009 because Belarus needed a loan from the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Lukashenka said. "But we didn't eat through that money then and took advantage of the situation," he said. "But we found ourselves in such a situation again amid rising prices of energy resources because the gold and foreign exchange reserves are insufficient."

It is now necessary to take advantage of the devaluation and invest foreign currency proceeds in modernization and measures to improve the quality of products, Mr. Lukashenka said.

"Yes, unfortunately, we have already twice resorted to this unpopular measure," he said. "But we haven't perished, have we? We lived decently after that devaluation and will live decently after this one. But there will no longer be such a scale in housing construction and agriculture. Nor do we need it or would have it if we needed it. We won't have such a scale any more, we'll have a more careful policy." //BelaPAN