MINSK, 23 December (BelTA) – Belarus has obtained the fourth tranche of the IMF loan to the total amount of more than $688 million, BelTA learnt from the information department of the National Bank of Belarus. The decision on allocating the loan was made by the IMF Executive Board on 18 December 2009, after it completed the third review of Belarus’ performance under an economic program supported under a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Belarus fully honored all the obligations it undertook...

MINSK, 22 December (BelTA) – More than 1,200 small companies were set up in small and medium-sized towns of Belarus in January-September. There is a total of 8,900 small companies now in small towns, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Economy Ministry In January-September, the industrial output in small and medium-sized towns made up Br11.4 trillion, up 1.6% over the same period last year. The production of consumer goods went up 6.2% to Br5.4 trillion. The measures envisaged in...

MINSK, 21 December (BelTA) – There will not be any one-time devaluations in Belarus in 2009 or 2010, BelTA learnt from the information department of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB). The National Bank plans to preserve the current exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble to the basket of currencies at the end of 2009 and early 2010. This will be possible due to the fact that at present there are all the necessary prerequisites to maintain the stability of the exchange...

MINSK, 18 December (BelTA) – Belarus’ budget for 2009 will be curtailed by Br2 trillion, Finance Minister Andrei Kharkovets told media on 18 December. “We will be forced to cut down the budget by roughly Br2 trillion by the end of the year because we are not getting the planned amount of revenues,” explained Andrei Kharkovets. “We will re-distribute part of the money we cannot finance to the projects that should be financed in full”. The Minister remarked that through the year...

MINSK, 18 December (BelTA) – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in Kazakhstan on a working visit, BelTA learnt from the presidential press service. Alexander Lukashenko is set to take part in an informal summit. The formation of the Single Economic Area of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia is expected to be high on the agenda of the summit. Apart from that, the presidents will discuss the CSTO issues, and pressing problems of the EurAsEC development. БЕЛТА

MINSK, 18 December (BelTA) – During a visit of a group of Belarusian Catholic bishops to Rome, Pope Benedict XVI granted an audience to Bishop of Vitebsk Vladislav Blin and Head of the Belarusian Uniat Church Sergei Gaek. Pope Benedict XVI also met with all members of the Belarusian Catholic delegation. During the audience, the bishops invited Pope Benedict XVI to pay a visit to Belarus, BelTA learnt from Alexander Amelchenya, spokesman for the Secretariat of the Belarusian Catholic Bishops...

MINSK, 16 December (BelTA) – Belarus has started creating a national space agency, First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) Piotr Vityaz told reporters on 16 December, BelTA has learnt. “The formation of the new structure has already been launched, many ministries agreed that it is necessary to create a system of control over projects in space exploration and space technologies,” Piotr Vityaz said. “Such a system is to be set up and...

MINSK, 14 December (BelTA) – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko demanded that all the social and economic development targets set for 2010 be absolutely fulfilled, BelTA has learnt. The head of state has held a meeting to discuss the key social and economic development targets of Belarus in 2010. “It has become traditional to discuss topical issues of our state’s development. This practice has proved efficient; it enables us to timely coordinate the activities of the national...

MINSK, 11 December (BelTA) – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has approved a number of international draft agreements, BelTA learnt from the presidential press service. They are a draft protocol on introducing amendments to the agreement on the collection of indirect taxes on export and import and on providing works and services in the Customs Union from 25 January 2008, a draft protocol on the collection of indirect taxes and control over tax payment while exporting or importing...

MOSCOW, 10 December (BelTA) – The Union State Foundation Treaty is a major landmark in the modern history of Belarusian-Russian relations, said Alexander Lukashenko, Chairman of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, President of Belarus, as he opened a session of the Supreme State Council in Moscow on 10 December. The President underlined that the Union State Treaty is the foundation for strategic partnership of the two countries. Ten years of joint efforts to fulfill articles of...