Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

Belarus Presid

“First of all, I want you to tell me about the performance of your agency. It will be useful for the assessment of the situation in our economy through the prism of customs services. You realize that the customs service is, more than any other agencies, a mirror of our economy. Are there any bottlenecks? How are we developing in these complicated conditions, first of all, involving the pandemic? In your opinion, what shall we do to keep the economy stable this year?” Aleksandr Lukashenko wondered.

The president also asked about the situation on the borders with Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine. “I am especially curious about two Baltic states – Lithuania and Latvia. As you inform me, almost 40% of freight vehicles come from Lithuania and Latvia this year. This is a huge volume. If we take on this flow, logistics hubs of Lithuania will underperform by nearly a quarter,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Belarus and Russia were mulling over the relocation of Belarusian cargos (oil products, potash fertilizers and other goods) from Baltic ports to the Ust-Luga port. “What is the State Customs Committee thinking about the relocation of these cargos? What will it mean for our logistics centers? We have strong logistics centers. Many services, including for or economic operators and subjects of the EAEU countries are provided in Lithuania. But, as far as I know, we can provide these services to these freight carriers in Belarus. What do you think about it?” he asked.

Yuri Senko informed the president about the foreign trade statistics. In his words, 71 million tonnes of goods were transported through the Belarusian customs border with Baltic countries, Poland and Ukraine. This volume is 15% lower than in the same period of 2019. “Russia also influenced that, as its export of oil products to Western Europe fell by 30%. Our export and import fell by only 10%,” the chairman of the State Customs Committee said. “This is mostly railway transport. The situation at automobile border checkpoints has not almost changed, only at the beginning of the pandemic when the consumer capacity in Europe and the EAEU countries reduced. But all routes are being restored now.”

On contribution to Belarus' national budget

In January-September, the Belarusian national budget received Br6.1 billion worth of payments supervised by the State Customs Committee. The inflow fell by almost 8% from the same period of 2019. One of the reasons, according to the State Customs Committee, is the Russian tax maneuver. The decrease is largely attributed to export customs duties. If we exclude this position from calculations, we will find out that the revenues to the budget went up 5.3%, or Br230 million.

On law enforcement

This year customs services have already detected 210 crimes. These include 79 drugs trafficking attempts. Customs officers withdrew 95kg of drugs and 19,000 pills containing narcotic and psychotropic substances. Besides, the Belarusian customs services detected 73 economic crimes which incurred almost Br13.5 million of losses.

Law enforcement bodies opened three criminal cases involving the transportation of weapons, ammunition and objects of export control (parts of magazines for firing and hunting rifles, other weapons).

Customs bodies also detected 11 crimes involving money trafficking. Customs officers withdrew Br2.7 million in the equivalent from administrative law violators and offenders.

On customs infrastructure development

This year major funds have been allocated for the renovation of two border checkpoints Verkhny Terebezhov and Urbany. As of September, these projects were 70% and 92.6% complete.

According to the State Customs Committee, the modernization of these border checkpoints will allow increasing their daily throughput capacity by 1,375 cars.

Dear teachers, professors, educators, all educational workers of Minsk Oblast!

I sincerely congratulate you on your professional holiday - Teacher's Day!

A teacher is not only a profession, but also an honorable mission. After all, for each of your students you are a senior comrade, mentor and, along with your parents, a close person to whom you can always turn for kind advice and emotional support.

With your daily work, responsiveness and dedication, you set an example for children and adolescents, help them discover their abilities and talents, and find their purpose in life. And by developing the intellectual potential of schoolchildren, you are actually creating the future of our society.

The teaching staff of the Minsk region has always been distinguished by a high level of professionalism. And this is natural. Indeed, it is based on teachers, teachers and educators with an active civic position, devoted to their work and faithful to their duty. People who skillfully combine traditional approaches in teaching and are always open to innovations.

Thanks to you, dear teachers, more than one generation of creative and purposeful citizens has grown up in our region, who have become excellent parents, patriots of their country, real professionals in their chosen business. And today's schoolchildren demonstrate bright successes at international, republican competitions and olympiads, creative and sports competitions. This is your indisputable merit and contribution to the development of the central region and the whole of Belarus.

Dear teachers, industry veterans! Low bow to you for your work, patience, wisdom and selfless love for children. We value each of you very much and will do our best to ensure that the teaching profession always remains one of the most respected and honorable in our society.

I wish you all good health, peace and harmony. May students always meet your best expectations! And life presents only good surprises and allows you to always be on the wave of optimism, inspiration and happiness!

The Belarusian government projects GDP to increase by 1.8% in 2021, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers held on 1 October to discuss the country's draft social and economic development forecast, the monetary policy guidelines and the national budget for 2021, BelTA has learned.

“According to estimates, next year's economic growth is projected at 1.8%, and we plan to keep the current year's GDP at the level of 2019. Many developed countries are planning to reach the pre-crisis level only in 2022,” said Roman Golovchenko.

The government began working on the package of economic documents for 2021 three months ago. According to the prime minister, over the past few weeks there have been significant changes in the assessment of the development of the world economy, Belarus' trade partner countries, prices for marketable goods, exchange rates, which remain high volatile.

Roman Golovchenko said that the key parameters of government efficiency to be set by the head of state should reflect not the process, but the goal, which is to improve the living standards and quality of life. “The task is to work on reducing costs, increasing productivity and other quality indicators,” he explained.

The head of government added that the forecast for 2021 should be as realistic as possible, take into account the resource capacity of the economy, and rely on accurate external and internal conditions.

According to the draft documents, economic efficiency and profit will be among the integrated performance indicators of the vertical power structure. Roman Golovchenko asked the Economy Ministry to voice its position in favor of the chosen approaches, including the proposed new system of indicators.

We appreciate the activities and investments of Emaar Properties in our country, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Chairman of Emaar Properties Mohamed Alabbar on 1 October, BelTA informs.

“First of all, I appreciate your punctuality and commitment. When we met about a year ago, we agreed on our joint work. Back then we conceived a number of projects, which you were interested in and were ready to implement in Belarus, ranging from agriculture to the construction of large infrastructure objects,” the head of state said. “We agreed to meet this autumn after the presidential election to finally dot the i's. That is why I am grateful to you for being so punctual and for coming exactly on this day.”

“We understand that the time is complicated worldwide. The era has posed many challenges to the mankind. Tough competition for investors is in full swing. And, of course, your work in Belarus and the investments which you are mulling over are very important for us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

In his words, a lot of work is still ahead. “Therefore, the today's meeting has brought together so many high-ranking officials [on Belarus' behalf the meeting was also attended by the prime minister, the chairman of the Minsk City Hall, the president's aide for national security],” the head of state said.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, he remembers Mohamed Alabbar's promise to erect the most beautiful buildings and facilities in Belarus which will become the UAE's trademarks in the center of Europe. “Therefore, I am ready to discuss all pending issues today. If there are any issues, we need to solve them promptly,” the president said.

Mohamed Alabbar is the co-owner of large international companies specializing in investment, real estate, hospitality business, e-commerce, logistics, public catering, fashion, design and other fields. His business has branched out into more than 50 countries. He is a developer of the concept of modern Dubai, a key advisor on economic and investment issues of the leaders of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Emaar Properties is one of the world's most valuable and admired real estate development companies. It operates more than 60 affiliated companies and is present on the markets of the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. It specializes in hospitality business, trade and entertainment infrastructure, commercial rent, IT development and other services for business, investment and real estate. The biggest construction projects of Dubai, including the tallest structure and building in the world Burj Khalifa and one of the largest shopping centers Dubai Mall, were implemented by Emaar Properties. Another ambitious project is the King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia. The project is estimated to cover 168 square kilometers. It includes a seaport, an industrial zone, business, recreation and apartment zones, educational and healthcare facilities, retail facilities.

Previously, Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Mohamed Alabbar in Minsk on November 2019 to discuss promising investment projects. In particular, they discussed prospects of work in hospitality business, agricultural and industrial projects. Belarus is interested in the development of projects in the real production sector with the United Arab Emirates.

A presentation of the Belarusian-Russian movement Rzhev Initiative took place in the Victory Museum in Moscow on 1 October, TASS reports.

The Rzhev Initiative is supposed to offer a platform for uniting initiative groups from Belarus and Russia and for implementing joint projects in various fields. Participants of the event admitted they had been inspired by the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier, which is a vivid example of cooperation between peoples of Belarus and Russia under the aegis of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Participants of the presentation said that they would like to continue exploring the potential of bilateral relations by supporting civic initiatives.

“We need grassroots diplomacy. People should talk to each other. We can help with genuine internal human replenishment of these relations and we will try to do just that,” said Vladimir Mamontov, Director General of the radio station Govorit Moskva, one of the organizers of the movement.

The Rzhev Initiative founders are the Belarusian-Russian community of reporters Druzya-Syabry [friends in Russian and in Belarusian], the Victory Museum, the Foreign Policy Studies Association named after Andrei Gromyko, the Belaya Rus association, and the Russian movement of volunteers that searches battlefields for fallen soldiers in order to immortalize memory of them. During the presentation their representatives noted that the movement is open to all concerned citizens and the organizers will welcome any ideas.

State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Grigory Rapota addressed participants of the presentation in a telegram: “Our time requires the development of a dialogue, the establishment of tighter ties, and at last the inclusion of young people into the integration process. Young people should choose in favor of the Union State of Belarus and Russia deliberately once they understand what prospects our common way of development of our two countries opens up. Young people are interested in working together, rich opportunities for self-realization, social mobility instead of nostalgia and historic traditions.”

Appeals for unity of the two countries bearing in mind political shocks after the presidential election in Belarus were the keynote idea of the presentation. Representatives of the Belarusian side and the Russian one mentioned the special significance of the Union State of Belarus and Russia and the importance of preserving tight ties between citizens. Rzhev Initiative projects are supposed to provide a positive impulse to cooperation of the peoples of Belarus and Russia and attract their attention to the common potential not only during crisis times.

The vaccination of volunteers with the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V as part of a double blind randomized placebo-controlled study has begun in Belarus, BelTA has learned.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has delivered the first batch of the Russian vaccine to Belarus for clinical trials. The fund finances the clinical trials in Belarus. One hundred people are supposed to take part in the trials. The vaccine was developed by the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after Honorary Academician N.F. Gamaleya of the Russian Healthcare Ministry.

According to Sergei Chernyak, a clinical trials specialist with the Russian company IPHARMA, all the 100 volunteers have already been selected. The trials require relatively healthy men and women aged 18-60. They may have some chronic diseases out of the exacerbation phase. The medics monitor the health of the volunteers after the injection in order to track any reactions.

The volunteer may be free to go one hour after the injection. “Just like with flu vaccination people may experience a slightly higher body temperature or some local hyperthermic reactions,” the specialist added.

The first two volunteers were vaccinated in Minsk city clinic No.28 on 1 October. Andrei Metlitsky will join them within the next few days. The man said he had learned about the trials from mass media and had found all the necessary information on the Healthcare Ministry website. “I want me and people around me to be safe. I always get vaccinated. I don't really get sick. But I would like this infection to miss me and my family,” he said.

The clinic's Head Physician Larisa Kazak stressed that the clinic is compliant with international requirements and is properly certified. Clinical trials of various medications have been performed here for years. “We hope these clinical trials will be a success and the international community will get an effective solution for fighting this dangerous infection,” she added.

Belarus is the first country to begin clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine after it was registered in Russia. The trials will take place in eight healthcare institutions in Belarus, which have been chosen as research centers. Two Belarusian clinics have already received the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine.

The cooperation between Belarus and Russia is beneficial for both countries, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Governor of Russia's Bryansk Oblast Aleksandr Bogomaz on 30 September, BelTA informs.

First of all, Aleksandr Lukashenko congratulated Aleksandr Bogomaz on the recent election as the governor of Bryansk Oblast. “I congratulate you on this achievement, you truly deserve this victory. You have recently made revolutionary progress in various fields – in the development of the region, in the gross regional product. This is a deserved victory. We are very happy for you. You are a decent man, people appreciated your work and re-elected you as the Bryansk Oblast governor,” the president said.

The head of state remarked that the 7th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia had finished its work the day before. During the forum the sides summed up achievements and determined development prospects. The forum was even more productive than the previous ones, the president believes. The sides concluded agreements to the tune of more than $750 million. “This is a good contribution to the economy of Belarus. And it is significant for Russia,” Aleksandr Lukashenko believes. “It is also essential to keep in mind the future impact of these contacts. They will give jobs and salaries to our people. This is what we lack in cooperation with other countries. It is good that in these conditions, amid the coronavirus spread and the aggravation of the international situation (you see what is going on around us) we have ultimately found ways for rapprochements and interaction which brings tangible economic benefits.”

Speaking about the regional cooperation with Bryansk Oblast, the president said that this is not only a neighboring region for Belarus but also a very friendly region. “We think and act in a similar way, we have similar economies. There will always be nuances, but we are fully committed to resolving them. I think that your visit to Belarus will help address these nuances,” he stressed.

As for the bilateral trade, the head described it as decent. “But I think that if we do our best, we will be able to reach the trade turnover of Belarus and Bryansk Oblast to 1 billion in the second half of your tenure,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The trade and economic cooperation of Belarus and Bryansk Oblast is increasingly vibrant. In 2019, the bilateral trade made up $650.7 million, including $411 million worth of export. In January-July 2020, the trade turnover reached $353.4 million, including $245.6 million worth of export (up 9.3% from the level of the previous year).

Major Belarusian exports to Bryansk Oblast are dairy products, agricultural, road and construction equipment, details for the railway industry, construction materials. Major imports from Bryansk Oblast are ferrous metals, cement, soya beans, paper and cardboard, various industrial and agricultural products.

There are assembly facilities of Belarusian enterprises Amkodor-Bryansk and Bryanskselmash; operators of the commodity distribution network of Mozyrsol and Milkavita; an official dealer of the Belarusian tapestry manufacturer Belorusskiye Oboi; a network of Belarusian enterprises Vitex, Belita, Milavitsa, Belwest and Nelva in the Russian region.

The reconstruction of the P23 Minsk-Mikashevichi highway is planned to be completed in November 2021, BelTA informs citing the press service of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Currently, construction work is underway on the section from 110th to 126th km (continuation of the road section from 74th to 110th km, reconstructed from 2014 to 2017).

Construction is going on in two stages - on two sections of the road. The first one is located in the Slutsk district of the Minsk region and passes through the settlements of Kvasynichi and Novobelichi. Work on it started in July 2020. In August of this year, the reconstruction of the second section, located in the Slutsk and Soligorsk districts, near the villages of Mlynka, Prusy and Chepel, began. The completion of all work is scheduled for November 2021.

"After the reconstruction, the road will become a four-lane road with asphalt concrete pavement and will correspond to the parameters of the first category. It provides for the construction of a reinforced concrete bridge over the Devitsa river, as well as the modernization of the bridge over the Sivelga river," the press service said.

The Ministry of Transport noted that the republican road P23 Minsk - Mikashevichi is part of the network of international roads in the CIS. The work is carried out in accordance with the order of the President and is financed from the credit funds of the Development Bank.

Clinical trials of Russia's coronavirus vaccine are to start in Belarus in September, BelTA learned from the press service of the Healthcare Ministry.

Specialists from Belarus and Russia are actively collaborating on this matter. The Belarusian side has already determined the healthcare facilities where the trials will be done. Now some technical issues are being negotiated taking into account national and international requirements.

The categories and the number of patients are being determined. “According to preliminary information provided by the Russian side, there are plans to begin clinical trials in September this year,” the press service noted.

In addition, at the suggestion of the Russian side, Belarusian specialists are considering a possibility to make the vaccine with varying degrees of localization at Belarus' pharmaceutical companies.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Chairman of the Supreme Court Valentin Sukalo on 31 August, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted he would like to discuss tactical and strategic topics in the work of courts. “If we talk about tactics, I would like to discuss specific things, problems, including criminal cases, which are on the president's radar. As for the strategy, there has been a lot of talk lately that we have to somehow remodel our public and political system, change the situation in the country. Changes, changes… Truth be told, nobody says what kind of changes they want. But I know very well who wants changes and what kind. This is why you and I are going to discuss it. Life has to always change,” he explained.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that work is in progress on the third version of the Constitution of Belarus. He asked Valentin Sukalo to get involved in the work. “I would like you to have a say in the matter as an experienced man,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. “As for the courts, many people – including representatives of the court system – want some kind of independence. Although I am ready to argue with anyone that Belarusian courts are the most independent ones. Nobody should laugh at it. You know how I protect you against all kinds of pressure or requests over the phone. I often say that everything depends on judges: if they want to be dependent on someone, it means they will have to respond to these phone calls, figuratively speaking. You've never received secret calls from me. Everything is in the open between us. If the president keeps an eye on some criminal case, I say it openly and you do, too.”

“This is why I believe that although we have a bit of an authoritarian system in the public life, nevertheless, the president protects and preserves courts. But it is a personal thing while we have to make a system work regardless of personalities, including Lukashenko. This is why I think in the new Constitution we have to properly reflect the system of our courts resulting from the experience of our work over the last quarter of the century. But in a responsible manner: if you submit a proposal, sign it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Speaking about the operation of the court system, Valentin Sukalo noted that on the whole the situation is stable and functional despite some tensions in city courts. “The court system performs the constitutional duties it has to,” he stressed.