MINSK, 17 May (BelTA) - The situation in the economy and finance in Belarus has stabilized, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich to receive his report, BelTA learnt from the press service of the head of state. “First of all, I would like to hear from the Government (we already discussed the matter with the Chairman of the Board of the National Bank) how the issues that are of concern to the population are being resolved. Economy and finance have stabilized. We have achieved the goals we set for ourselves in foreign trade. I think you already have exact figures for the first quarter, and it is necessary to make sure that our people feel that the economy has stabilized. I mean not only pricing. It is time we had a closer look at the big things: housing, loans, interest rates, and so on,” the head of state said. Alexander Lukashenko touched upon matters relating to the forthcoming visit of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation to Belarus. “The President of the Russian Federation and I have agreed that he will pay his first visit to Belarus on 31 May. Therefore, we need to get ready and study a variety of issues instead of simply reviewing cooperation results,” the head of state said. The President noted that new cooperation areas and new proposals are needed in order to elaborate a long-term policy. We need to look at it from economic and political perspectives. Let us take three to five issues, work on them and submit them to the Russian Federation for consideration,” Alexander Lukashenko said. Another theme was the implementation of government programs. Alexander Lukashenko asked what steps are being taken to promote cotton, flax and worsted enterprises. “We really need to make a breakthrough in these areas. And then we will be able to say that our light industry got going,” the President believes. The head of state was reported on the current status of the economy, the four- month results, and the underperforming enterprises regarding which the President gave special instructions. As reported by the Prime Minister, positive results were achieved in the economy in the first four months of the year. Import substitution work, which was carried out on the instructions of the head of state, also yields good results, particularly with regard to the increase in the trade surplus. The head of state was briefed on the construction and modernization of dairy farms. The government, using resources of the Development Bank among other things, found additional Br1.2 trillion in soft loans to support the construction and upgrade of dairy farms. The President instructed to put order and systemize the work of dairy farms upgrading projects. Modernization should envisage the whole set of activities from the material and technical base to implementation of advanced technologies. One of the themes discussed at the meeting was implementation of investment projects in Belarus. According to the PM, today Belarus is considering a number of interesting proposals from Turkey. Turkish businessmen show a keen interest in the construction of different facilities in Belarus including hospitality business, social, sports and industrial facilities. The President was updated on the progress made in the implementation of investment projects in the light industry. All the works on the Kamvol credit agreement have been almost completed. The loan will make up ?136 million. The money will be used to provide an overhaul of the company and increase its production output. Thus, the plans include the production of up to 4 million long meters of fabric a year. The Baranovichi Cotton Production Amalgamation is next in line for modernization through investment. The government leadership and ministers supervise this enterprise and other critical objects following the decision of the President.

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