MINSK, 3 November (BelTA) – Alexander Lukashenko is convinced that Belarus will be able to handle the global crisis’ negative impact on the country’s development. The Belarus President made the relevant statement during a state award ceremony on 3 November. The head of state underlined that responsible and smooth work in every office is now important more than ever. “It is not a secret that the global crisis negatively affects the development pace of our country, generates quite many...

MINSK, 30 October (BelTA) – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is considering the possibility of personnel changes in the government. The press service of the head of state told BelTA, on 30 October President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko held a cabinet meeting to review the country’s social and economic development in January-September 2009 as well as the draft social and economic development forecast, the budget bill and major monetary management guidelines for 2010. Alexander...

MINSK, 29 October (BelTA) – There will be no drastic changes of the exchange rate of the national currency and no drastic devaluation in Belarus, Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus (NBRB) Piotr Prokopovich told media on 29 October. IMF experts believe that the NBRB’s current policy is fit for the present day reality and there is no sense in changing it. “Therefore no drastic moves, no sudden devaluation is going to happen,” Piotr Prokopovich made it clear....

MINSK, 29 October (BelTA) – Belarus plans to receive another tranche of the IMF loan in December 2009, Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus (NBRB) Piotr Prokopovich told media on 29 October. According to him, as of 1 October, the National Bank fulfilled all the targets coordinated with the IMF. An expert group of the International Monetary Fund is to come to Minsk to assess these targets. “We expect to receive another tranche of the IMF loan in December,” Piotr...

MOSCOW, 28 October (BelTA) – The next year’s Union State budget will be as large as this year’s, said Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin after a session of the Union State Council of Ministers in Moscow on 28 October. Vladimir Putin said the sides have agreed to preserve the Union State budget size despite the economic difficulties brought about by the global financial crisis. The Russian Prime Minister also said that Union State budget funds should be used effectively, in...

MINSK, 27 October (BelTA) – The Belarusian experience of alleviating consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe is in demand, said Olga Lugovskaya, Head of the Scientific Support and International Cooperation Office of the Department for Alleviating Chernobyl Catastrophe Consequences. Belarus possesses unique experience and knowledge of what to do after an emergency at a nuclear power plant. With rapid spread of nuclear power engineering across the globe, the experience is extremely needed....

GOMEL, 27 October (BelTA) – Regional cooperation between the Gomel oblast and Siauliai County of Lithuania is discussed today in Gomel, BelTA has learnt. A delegation of the Siauliai County led by chief of the regional administration Rimundas Domarkas met with chairman of the Gomel oblast executive committee Alexander Yakobson. The governor told the guests about the social and economic development of the Gomel oblast, the current state of affairs in the region. In January-August this...

MINSK, 26 October (BelTA) – Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia are negotiating their entry into the World Trade Organization as a single delegation, EurAsEC Secretary General Tair Mansurov told media after meeting with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on 26 October. He remarked that under predetermined terms each country will carry out negotiations with the WTO but the three countries will join the organization simultaneously. According to Tair Mansurov, there are two scenarios of...

MINSK, 23 October (BelTA) – There are no avoided topics in Belarus-Azerbaijan relations, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko as he met with Yagub Eyubov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, on 23 October. The President said that the nations of Belarus and Azerbaijan are connected by brotherly ties. The Azerbaijani have no grudge against the Belarusians while the Belarusians have no problems with the Azerbaijani, added the head of state. Alexander Lukashenko remarked that...

MINSK, 21 October (BelTA) – The procedure of nominating candidates to the Belarusian parliament by political parties might be simplified, BelTA learnt from Lydia Yermoshina, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus. “Political parties seeking to put forward a candidate to the Belarusian parliament in a given constituency need to have an office in this constituency. We suggest removing this requirement from the legislation,” Lydia Yermoshina said. “The problem...