The state will support private manufacturers of high-tech products, Belarus first vice premier Vladimir Semashko told BelTA. Today he visited several town-core companies in the Svetlogorsk district, including Belarusian-German furniture maker Sosnovyi Bor. Belarus adheres to market economy, however, the government retains the right to use instruments to regulate the economy, for example, when a company is established or when force majeure circumstances occur. Speaking about Sosnovyi Bor,...

The fundamental position of Belarus in its dialogue with Russia will be preservation of the status quo: Belarus is a sovereign and independent state, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said today while meeting with heads of major Belarusian mass media companies. ‘We are not willing to exchange our independence and sovereignty for any kind of price for gas and oil,’ he emphasized. The recent ‘blow from the East’ has not affected the intensity of bilateral contacts, the...

Regardless of how the Belarusian-Russian relations may evolve, Belarus has no intention of abandoning the responsibility for the Union State security, Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko told a press conference for top executives of Belarusian mass media today. “Whatever our relations may be, nobody has relieved us of the responsibility for the defensive capacity of the Union State, our common fatherland. If, god forbid, we should die to protect our land, we will not let tanks across...

Belarus has ratified all the agreements signed within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the chairman of the permanent commission for international affairs and ties with the CIS of the Chamber of Representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly, Vadim Popov, has told today during a meeting with the CSTO general secretary, Nikolai Bordiuzha. However, it does not mean that the work of parliamentarians in the CSTO has finished, he noted. Deputies intend to...

The cooperation in the sphere of science and technology is among the most promising in Belarusian-Indian relations, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, told representatives of Indian mass media in an interview today. ‘We do not simply have many points of contact [in this sphere], but we have made good progress in many areas of cooperation in this sphere,’ the head of state said. In this respect the president cited cooperation the spheres of microelectronics, development and...

A part of products of Belarusian Steel Works (BMZ) will be sold via the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange. The proposal was voiced today by the chairman of the board of the exchange, Arkadiy Salikov, during a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. This move is aimed at determining the real market value of BMZ products. “Today the products of Belarusian Steel Works are highly liquid. Therefore there is a point in holding exchange tenders to determine their real...

The ten months the Republic of Belarus presided over the Collective Security Treaty Organisation was the most effective period in the organisation’s entire history, CSTO secretary general Nikolai Bordiuzha said in Minsk on April 9. In his words, last year the organisation held a lot of significant events of military nature, shaped a legal base for a successful fight against illegal drugs business, managed to settle several important problems related to the collective security of Russia,...

The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) plans to open a branch in Gomel in Q2, 2007. The first auctions are scheduled for June 1, spokesperson for the exchange Svetlana Resenchuk told BelTA. According to her, the trading hall will have 34 working stations. Premises for Mogilev and Vitebsk branches have been found too. Now preparation of the necessary documents is underway. Svetlana Resenchuk reminded that on September 2006, a branch in Brest had been opened. The central office...

The government of Belarus has been drafting documents on the development of the private sector in small towns, first deputy prime minister Vladimir Semashko said during a visit to the Zhitkovichi region of Gomel oblast. In his words, measures stipulated by the documents should stimulate development of small business. “It is necessary to create macro conditions for the business development in small towns. First of all, preferences should be given to local entrepreneurs in order to attract...

The government of Belarus has been drafting documents on the development of the private sector in small towns, first deputy prime minister Vladimir Semashko said during a visit to the Zhitkovichi region of Gomel oblast. In his words, measures stipulated by the documents should stimulate development of small business. “It is necessary to create macro conditions for the business development in small towns. First of all, preferences should be given to local entrepreneurs in order to attract...