Report of Chairman of Belarusian State Customs Committee Vladimir Orlovsky

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Chairman of the Belarusian State Customs Committee Vladimir Orlovsky to receive his report on 16 September.

The President raised a number of issues related to ensuring the transit of cargo and assistance to enterprises amid restrictions introduced by the West and reorientation to the eastern direction. The second issue on the agenda was the situation with payments and budget replenishment through the work of customs authorities. The third one – measures to tackle smuggling.

“I am interested in the opinion of our customs bodies in regard with the situation at the border. I recall my service on the border in Soviet times. I was thinking before our meeting that the customs bodies, as well as border guards, are working in a completely different environment today. The customs officers, in particular,” the head of state said. “There is a lot more work now, especially after the relations with the West have deteriorated. After all, we have reoriented our economy to the East. What are things with the reorientation of commodity flows to the east and how does the customs work?”

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the State Customs Committee does a lot to assist Belarusian enterprises and residents in trade operations. “What is the situation with the transit of our cargoes and how much is the customs involved in this assistance for our enterprises in general?” he asked.

Aleksandr Lukashenko called the second issue - customs payments and replenishment of the country's budget – to be one of the most important. The President asked about recent developments in the matter, in comparison with the previous periods and last year.

“The third is the issue of security. Customs plays a crucial role in ensuring security, both of the state and our citizens. What is the situation with smuggling today?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.

He also asked about Vladimir Orlovsky’s opinion on the situation on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border and in the western direction. The head of state noted the “frenzy” of the neighbors in the west who have taken a number of decisions to close border checkpoints. Only five road checkpoints out of 26 are operating on the Belarusian border today. These are two crossings on the border with Poland and Lithuania each, and one on the border with Latvia.

“We could have said that it was not important since sanctions have been imposed and we do not trade with the West as we used to. But [Belarus] is a transit country. Therefore, this assessment is important to us. How do the situation on the southern borders compare to that on the western ones? I need your point of view, your perspective on the situation, especially for the future,” the President said.

He also suggested discussing other issues of interest to the chairman of the State Customs Committee, including personnel matters.