Lukashenko formed the economic bloc of the government. Who is responsible for it and what tasks did the President set
March 3, 2025
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko made personnel decisions on forming the government's economic bloc on March 3, a BELTA correspondent reports.
However, a distinctive feature of the government's work in the new composition will be a significant strengthening of the role of deputy prime ministers. "I want to once again highlight the peculiarity of the future government's work, which I will insist on. This peculiarity is that deputy prime ministers will have significantly more weight. The Chairman of the Government is the chairman, he organizes the work of the government, chairs government meetings, but in no case makes any unilateral decisions and does not dominate the members of the government, primarily the deputy prime ministers," emphasized Alexander Lukashenko.
By the President's decision, the government's economic bloc will be headed by Nikolai Snopkov. He has been appointed First Deputy Prime Minister.
The head of state also appointed Artur Karpovich as Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, Dmitry Kijko as Minister of Taxes and Duties, Yuri Seliverstov as Minister of Finance, Yuri Chebotar as Minister of Economy, Kirill Zalessky as Minister of Communications and Informatization, and Dmitry Matusevich as Chairman of the State Property Committee.
"This is the bloc that Nikolai Gennadievich Snopkov will be in charge of," explained Alexander Lukashenko. "He already had, and still has, a lot of powers, but this is due to his personal qualities; he knew how to defend his areas of work and powers. But I want everyone to hear this, and primarily those sitting here."
On economic growth and investments
Speaking about the tasks facing the government's economic bloc, Alexander Lukashenko first and foremost emphasized the need to attract investment. "The main task for this bloc and for Nikolai Gennadievich (First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov. - BELTA note) personally remains economic growth, and this is primarily investment," the President said.
He recalled the "One District - One Project" initiative, which has seen good development. "I am ready for us to see new ideas based on this initiative. But investments must grow. And we plan to achieve an investment growth of about one-third over the five-year period," the head of state noted.
According to him, special attention should be paid to the implementation of landmark investment projects, including the "Great Stone" industrial park, the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation, and the BELGEE passenger car production. "I hope new ones will appear too," Alexander Lukashenko added.
"We must definitely pay attention to the outflow of people from the regions. This outflow must not be allowed under any circumstances. Wage differentiation must be reduced. People in the regions should receive wages approximately the same as in Minsk," the President demanded.
About small and medium-sized businesses
Another important task is the unconditional implementation of the law on the transition of individual entrepreneurs to small businesses. "This is what Snopkov and the group he leads insisted on. By 2030, the small and medium-sized business sector should account for about half of the economy. This is also his proposal," the head of state said.
Alexander Lukashenko expects the effective implementation of the self-employed institution. Here, according to the President, the main task is to "whiten" the entire labor market. In other words, for everything to be open and transparent.
About digitalization and tasks for the "advanced minister"
Alexander Lukashenko instructed Nikolai Snopkov to also coordinate the creation of interacting information systems and data centralization. At the same time, the head of state demanded to clarify what exactly is meant by digitalization.
"Otherwise, we talk about 'digitalization, robotization, informatization, and artificial intelligence,' but we can't even distinguish these concepts, let alone act in this regard. Two or three people figure something out, and they rush ahead without looking back: are people, is society, following us or not. Therefore, yes, we need to be at the forefront in these areas, primarily in artificial intelligence and so on, to understand what it is, but to clearly envision what we need today and what we don't need today, what we can do without," the President said.
The new Minister of Communications and Informatization, Kirill Zalessky, as noted by the President, is not new to this field and is well acquainted with the IT sector. "I implore you. You will probably be the most advanced (perhaps Nikolai Gennadievich is even more advanced in this regard) – look at what we need. We have created all these systems, but we cannot work with them or use them," Alexander Lukashenko pointed out.
He once again demanded a careful approach to digitalization issues and not to chase trends: "We are running, and sometimes we don't know where."
According to the head of state, special attention should be paid to establishing effective postal services.
On the "dictatorship" in trade
"In terms of trade, the ratio of its types must be controlled. I have already spoken about chain stores, convenience stores, marketplaces, and so on. We must not forget the main thing – the stores that were in Soviet trade, as we call them, convenience stores. Under no circumstances should they be destroyed for the sake of some chain stores: then collusion, then struggle," Alexander Lukashenko set the task. - Alright, today it's a "dictatorship," we are easily dealing with these chains. But what if we miss it, what if we can't? They will rule the country. Not to mention the consumers who will come to these stores."
The head of state emphasized that there should be normal competition in trade, while the work of convenience stores should be encouraged. "We must stop creating any new chains: we have plenty of them in Belarus. This is the task of the government, and primarily of local authorities," he said.
On prices and the fight against the grey market
The President also recalled the issue of pricing. Earlier, the government was instructed to determine a price regulation system by April.
"It will primarily consist in refining the existing system, making some changes to prioritize domestic goods over imports. We know what to do, this issue is obvious. Frankly, it has been overlooked by the government, but you will oversee it and know that this is not only and not so much your job (the methodology and mechanism of the system), but primarily a matter for the government and the Ministry of Economy, and you will have to organize and implement it," Alexander Lukashenko addressed the head of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART).
He also demanded that effective measures be taken to prevent the sale of substandard or counterfeit products in the country, as well as goods obtained through illicit schemes, including online.
"If you see something is wrong, take action. Besides being a minister, you have a great name and title – you are a member of the government. And you should be concerned about everything, not just say, 'This is not my business, let someone else handle it.' There are no irrelevant issues for government members in our country. They must deal with all issues that arise. If you stumble upon something, take action. I say the same to all high-ranking officials," the Belarusian leader stated.
On economic planning
"In the next five-year period, the economy must operate according to clear plans. There is no need to fear this. Those who taught us to abandon plans and let everyone go free, they create up to 500 plans (Japan, for example) in various areas per year. But we abandoned everything. How are we supposed to live and work? Even families plan their lives, but we in the state do not want to do it," the President remarked.
The Minister of Economy, Alexander Lukashenko added, has the task of carefully studying the investment climate in neighboring countries and acting accordingly.
"As for debureaucratization and sensible digitalization, we have already discussed this: there is no need to fear it. Where it is necessary to simply remove all bureaucratic obstacles, we must do it," the head of state declared.
He instructed that a socio-economic development program for the period up to 2030 be developed by the end of the year. "I would like us, based on the experience gained, not to rewrite the provisions of the old program and not to transfer them to the new one, but for it to be a real program and represent the face not only of Nikolai Gennadievich, but also of the Ministry of Economy," the President figuratively put it.
On the sustainability of the budget system
The Ministry of Finance, Alexander Lukashenko demands, must ensure the sustainability of the budget system. "We have enough people claiming the budget ruble. The Ministry of Finance must be a tough filter for such applicants and initiators," the Belarusian leader explained. "Every ruble must be cherished. We must set a firm goal - we must save like never before in this five-year period."
To this end, conditions must be created for the high-quality work of all budget organizations, and the minister's task in this regard is to simplify and automate their activities as much as possible.
On a reasonable tax system
"The Minister of Taxes and Duties must once again analyze our tax legislation. I have great hopes for you, that as an experienced person who has worked in many areas, you will propose some new reasonable system. Perhaps somewhere we need to take a risk - our country is manageable. Therefore, perhaps. But you don't need to chase anyone, you need to proceed from our conditions," said Alexander Lukashenko.
He called the optimization of tax incentives a very important task. According to the President, a system must be developed that entrepreneurs can easily understand, rather than starting their new working day with a trip to the tax inspectorates. "And this happens," the head of state noted.
On the problem "on the ground"
Alexander Lukashenko reminded the State Property Committee of the task of dealing with dilapidated houses in rural areas.
"You will take this under control. Do not sit in your office, turning over documents, walk around the entire country. It is really necessary to digitize, as it is fashionable to say today, everything we have, to make it publicly available – vacant plots, houses, and so on, so that people can see and buy them. We must solve this problem within five years. You must have a final inventory of property, land resources, and plots. There should be no dilapidated and ruined not only houses, but also villages," the President emphasized.
In conclusion
Summarizing the foregoing, the Head of State noted that he had, of course, listed not all, but only the main tasks facing the appointed leaders. "I am far from claiming that I have set out exceptional requirements for you, that this is the entire scope. You know much more in your respective fields. But I have told you about the main things that will be of my concern," the Belarusian leader warned.
At the same time, he emphasized to the members of the government that they should not concentrate exclusively on narrow departmental tasks and interests, but should look at the situation more broadly, showing interest in solving various kinds of problems.
Addressing Nikolai Snopkov, who will lead the work of the government's economic bloc, the President advised him to carefully build work with the new personnel appointed by the Head of State and choose an appropriate communication style.
"I would very much like, Nikolai Gennadievich, for you to work carefully, not forgetting that these are the President's 'children', appointed by the President (officials. - BELTA note), so you cannot hit them on the head, you cannot swear at them, and you cannot even shout at them (only outside the office, like men)," Alexander Lukashenko summarized with a touch of humor.
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