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Lukashenka to discuss economic performance with top government officials on June 6

Alyaksandr Lukashenka is expected to chair a June 6 large-scale government conference that will focus on the country’s economic performance this year and the cabinet’s proposals for future economic policies, BelaPAN has learned.

Speaking at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers on May 20, Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich emphasized the need for reforming the industrial sector. The traditional model of the development of the industrial sector has "exhausted itself," he said.

Unlike the construction sector, the agricultural sector and farm produce processing industry, and the utility services sector, the industrial sector, a leading branch of the Belarusian economy, does not have an inter-agency group generating proposals for improving its performance, Mr. Myasnikovich said.

Potential economic reforms are expected to be discussed by government officials with a delegation of China’s economists that is currently staying in Minsk. The Chinese experts are scheduled to present their recommendations to the Belarusian government on May 23.

While delivering his annual address to the nation and the legislature in April, Mr. Lukashenka called for creating a new system of state financial assistance.

The government will continue to finance the development of infrastructure and other spheres that offer no quick return on investment, but it should not simply hand out money, Mr. Lukashenka warned.