Working trip to Svisloch District, Grodno Oblast

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made a working trip to Svisloch District, Grodno Oblast on 24 June.

During the visit to Svisloch District the head of state heard out a report on the social and economic development of the region. “What gross regional product will we have at the end of the year after these crazy sanctions? We have been preparing for it, we knew what could happen,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

The President stressed that there should not be any downfalls at enterprises. “We must show those rascals across the border that their sanctions are their impotence. And we will do it,” he said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko familiarized himself with the operation of the Bortniki dairy farm and the enterprise Khanchitsy-Neman. There the head of state was also informed about the development of Svisloch District, the problems of the region and its development prospects. The President is convinced that discipline is key. There are highly-qualified specialists at enterprises who know how to use all technologies, but mismanagement is sometimes surprising, he noted.

“God forbid the war started, we would rally to the defense of our country immediately. But why don’t we want to work now, in the peaceful time? Discipline is key. Only discipline,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Khanchitsy-Neman is operated by Grodno Tobacco Factory Neman. The agricultural enterprise is efficient. However, the head enterprise may face some difficulties in the future. There is always competition in the trade with excise goods, and countries are doing their best to protect their markets. This is one of the reasons why Belarus is blamed for cigarette smuggling.

“They are preparing to protect themselves from cigarette trade [import]. These are also excise goods, direct revenues to the budget. Therefore, Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Russians are trying to protect their markets,” the President remarked. “That is why, they are now complaining that we have flooded them with smuggled goods. Then fight against smuggling like we are fighting.”

The President was told that rapeseed oil production is a highly profitable business. However, manufacturers complain of a number of issues related to pricing.

“It is necessary to come to grips with the prices in general and to ban the export of seeds of rapeseed,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. According to him, it is a crime to export raw materials that can be processed into good products and to fail to establish full-cycle processing of rapeseed at local enterprises.

In addition, mala fide forms of intermediation are commonplace in this sector and the government loses a lot of money, the President noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also toured the Silva Logistic BY transport and logistics hub in Svisloch District which belongs to the Kronospan OSB woodworking company. It sells its products both on the domestic market and abroad. According to the head of state, the company could use waste wood, which is in fact a semi-finished product, to produce furniture, for example. But for that it needs to build a factory. “The bigger the added value in Belarus will be, the more we will support you,” Aleksandr Lukashenko assured.

“Choose a location, tell the governor, my aide [Aide to the President - Inspector for Grodno Oblast Yuri Karayev] if you want, they will tell me where you will build the factory. I am taking this matter under control, and we will help you in every possible way. You will buy equipment on your own, and you have enough raw materials,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President also promised to support other investment projects of the company.

During the working trip the President spontaneously inspected farm machinery and visited a local bakery.

As it turned out, the farm machinery in Svisloch District was unattended, the buildings were not used on purpose, were cluttered or empty. The President instructed local authorities to sort things out on this 26-hectare territory as soon as possible, to determine what buildings they will continue to use and what buildings will be dismantled.

“In spite of these mess, those buildings can be used as workshops. You just need to sort things out,” the President said. “Everything should be in order by the year-end. Please remember that I will keep an eye on you. I will visit you before winter, and we’ll see.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko also decided to visit a local bakery. He inspected the production process, and had a short conversation with workers. The enterprise also needs repair and upgrade. “We will sort things out here as well. If something has to be done here, it will not cost a lot,” the head of state said.

After the visit to enterprises the President held a meeting to discuss the development prospects of Grodno Oblast. Attended the meeting are representatives of the government, the President Administration, government bodies and local authorities: Grodno Oblast Executive Committee and district administrations.

"Even in Soviet times, Grodno Oblast was rightly considered one of the best regions of the huge Soviet Union. Our region has always been seen as an example," the President said opening the meeting. "In the newest history, in the history of sovereign Belarus, the trend has continued."

He noted that over the past five years, the gross regional product of Grodno Oblast rose faster than in the country as a whole: 5% against 3.5%. The situation is similar in terms of other important indicators: productivity (13% vs 8%), merchandise exports (almost 42% vs 9%). In the current difficult year Grodno Oblast ranks high both in terms of the economic growth as a whole (5.5%), industrial output (almost 21%), agriculture (1.6%).  In terms of construction and installation works, profitability of sales and net profit, commissioning of housing the region also holds leading positions," the head of state gave examples.

A few weeks ago, the Belarusian nuclear power plant began full-fledged operation, the President said. "This is the largest facility in the history of our country. Its importance for energy security and in general for the development of the economy is simply colossal," he said.

Summing up the successes in the development of the region, the head of state urged to maintain the good results.

According to the head of state, the meeting was organized in Svisloch District for a reason. “Your region is of those which got the status of the territory lagging behind in social and economic development by the government. Zelva District is in the same category. But I would have put it differently: these are promising districts in need of a wise strategy aimed at advanced development,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

According to the President, new enterprises should make products with a high added value and generate maximum profits. “We don’t need enterprises just to employ people,” he stressed. “We need to build such facilities where our people will get normal salaries, at least three times higher than the average salary in the republic. And the main thing is to process our resources (forest, soil and so on) and make products with a high added value.”

At the same time, the President remarked that it is inadmissible to neglect the agricultural industry where many people are employed while developing new production facilities. “We always have such a problem: we build an industrial facility, and people from rural areas come here. Balance is important. We should not neglect rural areas,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President demanded to launch at least one investment project in every district of Grodno Oblast. Besides, it is necessary to sort things out at existing enterprises and production bases. “I want you to understand: a new generation is coming. If our generation does not lay the foundation now, the new generation will face serious difficulties. It is hard to say if they do all that or not,” the head of state remarked.

“There should not be any depressive regions. These are normal districts, and we must focus on them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also gave an instruction not to expand free economic zones in Belarus.

“It is necessary to ‘freeze’ these free zones, I mean, we should no longer expand them. Only in a targeted manner. If someone brings high technologies, we will offer them the same benefits as in free economic zones. But we do not need to scale them up all over the country and put enterprises in unequal conditions,” the President emphasized.

“Think about it and submit proposals on how to stop it. We do not have that many investors who will need soft terms. We can do this on a case-by-case basis,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He also stressed that disagreements with other countries should not spill over to affect relations between peoples.

“You see what kind of relationship we have with Lithuanians and Poles. In no way should this affect business people and the general public. Lithuanians, Poles and Ukrainians are not to blame for what is happening. We should not allow a clash of interests of, say, the Polish diaspora in Belarus (which is relevant for Grodno and Brest) and the Poles who live on the other side of the border,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

The head of state pointed to good relations between peoples; they do not need a war. “Therefore, make sure that we do not have disputes on inter-ethnic grounds. We have never had this problem,” he added.

The President said that it would be good to increase the average salary to $700-800 in Belarus by 2025. It would be great if it reached $1,000.

“It will be good if the average salary grows to $700-800 in the country. And it will be amazing if it reaches $1,000,” the head of state said.

The President also deemed it necessary to increase the salaries of low-income workers whose income is usually below the average salary in the country.

The President recalled that the government and governors had been instructed to determine growth points for every district and oblast. “It means that every governor should prepare and ‘present’ a big investment project to the Belarusian people within five years,” the head of state said.

It is planned to build a new nitrogen plant in Grodno Oblast. However, according to the head of state, this project can be called a national one in terms of its scale and importance. “This will be a huge project, but the governor should think about another project, a medium-sized and personal one, if we can say so,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Chairmen of district executive committees should think what mark they will leave here. This should be an object you can be proud of.”

After the meeting with local officials the President met with Svisloch residents.

"Did you think I wouldn't come to you?" Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.

"No, we were waiting for you," the locals replied.

"Wherever I visit the pushcha, I always think of Svisloch, about the need of traveling there. The district is on the outskirts of the country and the situation is not easy there. But it is always on my radar," the President said.

The head of state told th locals about his trip, the enterprises he visited and about the results of the meeting. "We want to carry out large woodworking projects here. Frankly speaking, I am very cautious about the use of forest resources (this, like land, is our wealth), but I see that we are underperforming on this front. A lot of wood is not recycled on time, it overdries. We have a lot of forests on the swamps, in lowland places. No one wants to harvest timber there either," Alexander Lukashenko said.

Some 20% of the local population are ethnic Poles. In this regard, the President once again touched on the relations between peoples in the context of political differences with neighboring countries."I asked the local authorities to treat the Polish minority with care. People are not guilty of anything," he said.

“No order means no future. We will again be torn into pieces, ripped apart and taken over,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

The President noted that each person should feel that they shape the future of the country. “Take care of your piece of land, in no case succumb to anyone. We will not allow any hot war. They have unleashed a hybrid war against us behind the scenes. They will never dare to show up here,” the head of state assured.