Aleksandr Lukashenko hears out report of Belarus Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich
On 19 July President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich to receive his report.
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked he would like to discuss two important matters relevant for the domestic and foreign policies.
First, the President dwelled upon results of the official visit to the People’s Republic of China. Aleksandr Lukashenko said the government had to thoroughly review all the agreements reached with the Chinese side, particularly in view of the forthcoming meeting of the prime ministers of Belarus and China. The Belarusian head of state believes the meeting will allow resolving all the existing issues in trade, economy and financial spheres.
“Many issues will be addressed as part of the preparations for this event. But the key thing – and it was a proposal of the China President – is that we have reached a strategic level of partnership. It is more than words, China pays close attention and attaches a lot of importance to it. There was an agreement that at this stage we should work out a plan of our actions since it is a high level of cooperation, a so-called roadmap as is the custom today. And your meeting will be the most important step in preparing this roadmap,” said the President.
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that the document will include sections encompassing all the avenues of cooperation: trade, military technical, political, and humanitarian cooperation. He added that the sides had already discussed some of them. “In other words, a true action plan. The proposal of the Chinese side is very important for us. It is a very serious and new step on the part of the People’s Republic of China in support of Belarus,” noted the head of state.
The President also drew attention to the situation in Vitebsk Oblast. He said he wanted to hear the conclusions that the government had arrived at while examining the oblast’s performance.
Mikhail Myasnikovich remarked that the agriculture of Vitebsk Oblast is in a rather complicated situation. He was somewhat concerned by the fact that the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee fails to honor guarantees given to the banking system.
The head of state gave instructions to toughen the fiscal discipline in Vitebsk Oblast and the entire country. He stressed that development targets must be hit and state budget money can be spent on designated purposes only.
The Prime Minister informed the President about economic indicators of the country’s development. In his words, in January-June 2013 the GDP growth rate totaled 101.4%. In January-May the economy secured a foreign trade surplus of $303 million. Apart from that, the share of innovative products is high. The Prime Minister believes the fact indicates that modernization processes are going on in a rather wise manner. In June the finished goods inventory went down slightly — 3% down. The President said it was necessary for everyone to work to reduce the stock in storage.
Apart from that, the President was made familiar with draft decrees on the operation of several enterprises, including troubled ones. The government is convinced that major companies are the future as they can position themselves on foreign markets and work effectively on the home market.
The head of state approved the proposal to create Belarusian Cement Company out of three cement mills.
The President also backed the proposal to set up Belarusian Knitwear Company that will include OAO KIM, OAO Svitanak, OAO Kupalinka, and OAO Brest Stocking Mill. OAO Svitanak will be the head enterprise. The government believes it will allow using the manufacturing capacity of enterprises effectively and reducing manufacturing costs greatly.
The meeting also touched upon the development of footwear enterprises, in particular, SOOO Belwest and SOOO Marko. The head of state gave several instructions regarding the output and state support measures. Aleksandr Lukashenko urged the enterprises to use market principles in their operation and manufacture only as much merchandise as they can sell. Dependence on imports should be reduced while any state support should be repaid.
The government intends to polish the draft decrees submitted for the consideration of the head of state.
Speaking about the establishment of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park, the President said that control over its development should be toughened while all the works should be accelerated so that residents could get down to building the manufacturing facilities. The head of state was informed that there are plans to finish the design of the main utility lines as early as this year, in particular, gas and electricity supply lines for the first northern site for the sake of corporate development.
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked he would like to discuss two important matters relevant for the domestic and foreign policies.
First, the President dwelled upon results of the official visit to the People’s Republic of China. Aleksandr Lukashenko said the government had to thoroughly review all the agreements reached with the Chinese side, particularly in view of the forthcoming meeting of the prime ministers of Belarus and China. The Belarusian head of state believes the meeting will allow resolving all the existing issues in trade, economy and financial spheres.
“Many issues will be addressed as part of the preparations for this event. But the key thing – and it was a proposal of the China President – is that we have reached a strategic level of partnership. It is more than words, China pays close attention and attaches a lot of importance to it. There was an agreement that at this stage we should work out a plan of our actions since it is a high level of cooperation, a so-called roadmap as is the custom today. And your meeting will be the most important step in preparing this roadmap,” said the President.
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that the document will include sections encompassing all the avenues of cooperation: trade, military technical, political, and humanitarian cooperation. He added that the sides had already discussed some of them. “In other words, a true action plan. The proposal of the Chinese side is very important for us. It is a very serious and new step on the part of the People’s Republic of China in support of Belarus,” noted the head of state.
The President also drew attention to the situation in Vitebsk Oblast. He said he wanted to hear the conclusions that the government had arrived at while examining the oblast’s performance.
Mikhail Myasnikovich remarked that the agriculture of Vitebsk Oblast is in a rather complicated situation. He was somewhat concerned by the fact that the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee fails to honor guarantees given to the banking system.
The head of state gave instructions to toughen the fiscal discipline in Vitebsk Oblast and the entire country. He stressed that development targets must be hit and state budget money can be spent on designated purposes only.
The Prime Minister informed the President about economic indicators of the country’s development. In his words, in January-June 2013 the GDP growth rate totaled 101.4%. In January-May the economy secured a foreign trade surplus of $303 million. Apart from that, the share of innovative products is high. The Prime Minister believes the fact indicates that modernization processes are going on in a rather wise manner. In June the finished goods inventory went down slightly — 3% down. The President said it was necessary for everyone to work to reduce the stock in storage.
Apart from that, the President was made familiar with draft decrees on the operation of several enterprises, including troubled ones. The government is convinced that major companies are the future as they can position themselves on foreign markets and work effectively on the home market.
The head of state approved the proposal to create Belarusian Cement Company out of three cement mills.
The President also backed the proposal to set up Belarusian Knitwear Company that will include OAO KIM, OAO Svitanak, OAO Kupalinka, and OAO Brest Stocking Mill. OAO Svitanak will be the head enterprise. The government believes it will allow using the manufacturing capacity of enterprises effectively and reducing manufacturing costs greatly.
The meeting also touched upon the development of footwear enterprises, in particular, SOOO Belwest and SOOO Marko. The head of state gave several instructions regarding the output and state support measures. Aleksandr Lukashenko urged the enterprises to use market principles in their operation and manufacture only as much merchandise as they can sell. Dependence on imports should be reduced while any state support should be repaid.
The government intends to polish the draft decrees submitted for the consideration of the head of state.
Speaking about the establishment of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park, the President said that control over its development should be toughened while all the works should be accelerated so that residents could get down to building the manufacturing facilities. The head of state was informed that there are plans to finish the design of the main utility lines as early as this year, in particular, gas and electricity supply lines for the first northern site for the sake of corporate development.