The Belarusian charity action Our Children will start on December 20 and will last till January 10, 2008, Vice-Premier Alexander Kosinets stated at a video-conference in the House of Government. The action will include various cultural, entertainment and charity events for children. Special attention will be paid to the children from children’s homes, Alexander Kosinets underlined. On the instructions of the government, sponsor partnerships have been established between educational...

The National Bank of Belarus sees no grounds for reducing the refinancing rate, Pavel Kallaur, the First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank, told a press conference on November 21. “We have no new information which would give us the grounds for reducing the rate of refinancing,” he said. At the same time the inflation process in the world economy, including the growth of prices for oil and meat products, make an impact on many countries, he said. For example, the Central...

The assignments equivalent to $1billion 600 million have been allocated from the national budget of Belarus to implement the 2006-2010 state programme to cushion the impact of the Chernobyl consequences. Thus, every day Belarus assigns $1 million to mitigate the Chernobyl impact, Vladimir Tsalko, Deputy Emergencies Minister of Belarus, stated during a session of the UN General Assembly, BelTA has been told in the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. Like the Russian Federation...

Belarus is interested in investment assistance of the concern Leviev Group of Companies (LGC) in redeployment of industrial companies outside Minsk and in the development of the available areas, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said during a meeting with the owner and chairman of the concern Lev Leviev in Minsk. “Participation of your concern in the projects on construction of manufacturing and social facilities is of great interest for Belarus,” the President said. “We have...

Belarus is considering the possibility of using alternative oil supplies to provide up to 20% of the national oil import in 2010. Corresponding diversifications of energy supplies have been provided by the state programme for modernising the basic production facilities of the Belarusian power grid, energy saving and raising the share of local fuels in the total consumption by 2011. The information was released by the Energy Ministry. Specialists say, at present the system of providing...

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has approved appointment of chairmen of the local executive committees of the Vitebsk, Gomel and Minsk oblasts and Minsk City, BelTA learnt in the presidential press service. Thus, Viktor Nikolaikin was appointed chairman of the Vitebsk oblast executive committee, Piotr Gishkeliuk and Nikolai Shevchuk were appointed chairmen of the Braslav and Polotsk regional executive committees respectively. Natalya Kochanova will head the Novopolotsk town...

The Eurasian Economic Community member states have started forming a real Customs Union, Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said in Minsk on November 15 when meeting with EurAsEC SecGen Tair Mansurov. The meeting was held on the eve of the Moscow session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council of Heads of Government. Welcoming Tair Mansurov as a new EurAsEC Secretary General, Sergei Sidorsky said that “we are glad you are paying your first visit to Belarus”. The head of the Belarusian...

Nearly 70% of Belarus’ exports to Russia and other CIS member states go through the distribution network. An indisputable leader is the Industry Ministry. The network of its companies has been set up in 63 countries, including 52 non-CIS states, Trade Minister of Belarus Alexander Ivankov told BelTA. Belarusian companies have created 220 objects of the commodity distribution network, with 73% of them being deployed in the Russian Federation, 15% - in non-CIS countries including Austria,...

The Parliamentary Assembly (PA) passed the Union State budget for 2008 during the 32nd PA session of the Belarus-Russia Union State on November 14 in Moscow, BelTA learnt in the PA press service. The budget revenues are estimated at RUB 4 billion 61 million, of them RUB 2 billion 640 million will be allocated by the Russian Federation and RUB 1 billion 421 million – by the Republic of Belarus. In line with the draft, the budget expenditures will equal the revenues. The funds will be...

With the existing demand for Belarusian products the targeted GDP growth should exceed forecasts the government makes. The statement was made by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a government session dedicated to the next year’s draft social and economic development forecast, state budget bill and draft major monetary management guidelines on November 13. The session also tabled results of the country’s social and economic development in January-September 2007. “We are...