National economy

"The objective of the development of the national economy is a new, better quality of life for Belarusian people."

"Belarus’ top priority is to build a stable and competitive economy, the economy of tomorrow. This is the basis of our sovereignty. There is plenty of work to be done in this field. But we do not have to start from scratch. Over 25 years of independence Belarus has resolved many complex problems. The potential that we have enables Belarus to stay resilient even in the most unfavorable times."

"The objective of the development of the national economy is a new, better quality of life for Belarusian people. This is the ultimate priority of the state policy. The quality of life should be measured not only in rubles, dollars or euros, but also in the general state of a person's comfort at work, in the family, in relations with other people. After all, the happiness of people is defined not only by the size of the gross national product."

"The only thing we should be ‘worried about’ is economic performance. We have no other problems in our society. Everything else is under strict control. The economy is above all!"

"Salary should be earned! Its growth depends entirely on us. If we are able to upgrade enterprises and increase productivity, if it is profitable to sell products, our efforts will be paid well."

"We are often blamed for the slow progress of reforms. To speak frankly, I do not like this term. I prefer to call it transformation or improvement of our economy. I am convinced that human rights, democracy, market economy should not turn into another rigid doctrine that breaks the lives of tens and hundreds of millions of people. We do not need reforms for the sake of reforms."

"We should make our country attractive for wealthy people from across the globe. What are we ready to offer? A stable, comfortable, and predictable environment must become our national brand. Friendliness is a mandatory principle of work for everyone."

"We are talking about the need to make Belarus an IT country. We need to make products here so that Belarus could become one of the world’s IT hubs. We can do it."

"It is the economy of knowledge and professionals sincerely loving their homeland that ensure the competitiveness of the country."

"Well-developed agriculture is a cornerstone of our independence. We ensure food security of our country. We manufacture products that will always be in demand abroad. The demand for cars or TV sets, for instance, can rise or fall. People will always need food to survive. The demand for quality food, clothes and housing, will be always steady."

"Our main strategy is to make our economy anchored in local raw materials as much as possible."

"We are increasingly interested in promoting business activity and increasing the share of private property in the economy. We have never set public property against private property. Whatever form of ownership it is, the main thing is that it should work effectively for the benefit of the society."

"We need the kind of privatization and the kind of investors that will enable an expansion of merchandise markets, good salaries and the creation of new enterprises and technologies. We do not need those that pay miserable salaries for workers while a bunch of shareholders get all the revenues."

"We should view private property as one of the foundations of patriotism of our people. After all, when people have their own business, house, land, it gives them the opportunity to feel like an architect of their own destiny and country."

"Total dependence on foreign markets is a threat to the economy and sovereignty of the country. The development of the domestic market, development of the service economy should become the cornerstone of our new economic policy."

"We should not forget that there is tough competition in foreign markets. There are real trade wars and battles for every commodity with the use of a wide arsenal of means - from customs barriers and price maneuvers to the use of weapons. We also need to be fully prepared to compete. Success is guaranteed only if we offer improved quality of products, lower cost, pre- and post-sale maintenance services that meet the best international standards."