Lukashenka convened a meeting on one of the key pre-election promises to Polesians
November 18, 2025
The development of the Pripyat Polesie regions and the implementation of the relevant program were the topics of a meeting chaired by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA correspondent reports.
"The agenda of our meeting has been set for a long time - the issue of Polesie development until 2030," said the head of state. - I remind you that this program is one of the key pre-election promises of the President to the Polesie residents. The elections were held a long time ago. This does not mean that we have done nothing there. A lot has been done."
The President noted that this year the results of work in Polesie are felt. "But these are just small first steps. There is a sea of work ahead," warned the Belarusian leader. The head of state said that he recently inspected all the districts of Polesie and has a complete understanding of how the Polesie residents manage the land. The program until 2030 covers nine districts where 350,000 people live. "Touching upon the program, we must know and understand what measures need to be taken within and outside the program so that the Polesie residents, and indeed all of Belarus, notice that we are seriously engaged in Polesie. On the one hand. On the other hand, we must always remember whether we have the money to implement these measures," the Belarusian leader remarked.
In this regard, he asked to move away from "excessive Sovietism" in the reports, so that in the end it would not turn out that money was allocated for certain ideas and plans, but no results were noticed. "Precisely for this, specific measures and enterprises are needed that will contribute to the creation of new jobs (although this is not the most important thing today), the development of Polesia for centuries, forever," emphasized Alexander Lukashenko. "Everything must be precisely calculated, verified, and most importantly - bring economic returns in the long term. Especially when it comes to budget funds. There is no extra money in the country," said the President. "The program measures should be specific, fit into a simple algorithm: we must see the goal, set certain tasks, and act for the result. I warned you about this. As I am informed, you have optimized them in general. However, they are still not fully funded. And the financial gap is considerable." The head of state drew attention to the fact that about Br400 million, or 6% of the total funds allocated for the program (about Br6.5 billion), are missing. In this regard, the President asked for a specific answer to the main question: from which financial sources are the relevant measures planned to be implemented, and what kind of measures will they be?
Alexander Lukashenko noted that the work on the program implementation will be supervised by a true Polesian, Mikhail Rusy, the authorized representative of the head of state in the Brest region and the chairman of the Standing Commission on Legislation and State Building of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.
The President touched upon a number of specific aspects in the development of Polesia. One of them is natural challenges that require comprehensive, systemic solutions and, possibly, large investment projects. Today, the Brest and Gomel regions are a vivid example of what is happening with the climate. In this regard, it has become customary to refer to constant droughts, shallowing of rivers and melioration canals, which was not observed in principle thirty to forty years ago. "This is precisely that 'Soviet mentality' - we are all still stuck in the old ways: 'It's shallow, that's bad, this is bad...' - noted the head of state.
Alexander Lukashenko drew attention to the opportunities and available water resources, the main one being the Pripyat River: "Where is this water going? It would be one thing if Ukraine fully utilized the Dnieper waters... This water flows into the sea. So why are we not thinking today about how to 'turn this water back' when needed and where needed?".
In this regard, the head of state mentioned that the leadership of the Gomel region had proposed to him to return to the topic of the Dnieper-Bug canals. Alexander Lukashenko instructed the chairman of the regional executive committee, Ivan Krupko, to submit a proposal. "When he submitted the proposal to me, my eyes went dark. Because we simply do not have such enormous funds," said the President.
Alexander Lukashenko, however, noted that this idea needs to be discussed with knowledgeable and understanding people who are deeply involved in this topic: "If we need to go this way and it will pay off and bring results to the Gomel region – we will cross ourselves and start doing it. Therefore, everything must be thought through. Not just hear a good idea somewhere and "bang": "Let's have money!". We need to understand. Do we have money or not, will we have it or not, will it yield results or not. If it does – we will look for money." "We have not lost this foundation – the Dnieper-Bug canal systems. And today, when moisture is needed in the fields, it can be very useful. But we must not act blindly. This issue must be worked out very seriously. Think about the formula for the cost of the issue," the head of state added. Alexander Lukashenko also recalled the tasks of land reclamation, which in the current conditions should be focused not only on drainage, but also, among other things, on watering the territories: "We often have droughts in Gomel (we know the soils of Gomel), and we would need water. But we need to think about this today. Not drainage, but land reclamation – watering should be the focus. By the way, we built these land reclamation systems this way. We just need to restore them and work. This is the direction of our actions. We must proceed from the land."
The President instructs to build the strategy and tactics for the development of the districts included in the Pripyat Polesia Development Program, taking into account all these factors, while not forgetting about the improvement of the territories adjacent to Pripyat, the preservation of the river's ecology and its unique nature. "The nature is unique, peculiar. There is no such nature anywhere in the world. And the soils are very peculiar. And I would not say, if we take it as a whole, that they are rich. Sandy soils are predominant. But if you approach it wisely, you can get corresponding yields even on them," the head of state is confident. The President also drew attention to the region's tourist potential, which is not at all tapped, from national parks to agro-tourism estates. "And this is good money," Alexander Lukashenko noted. "We need to deal with this ourselves. Build something somewhere. After all, tourists today are not interested in palace interiors. They want something made of wood, to come and relax with their children. And we know how to do this. We have everything for this. And this needs to be done not just quickly, but instantly. Because this gold mine is slipping away. Therefore, we need to act instantly to recoup an inexpensive project and earn money from it."