On April 21, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka delivered his annual “report to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly [parliament].” When speaking about the economy, Lukashenka did not use the words “crisis” or even “decline”; yet, he recognized the country’s inadequate labor productivity and competitiveness (Tut.by, April 21). He also acknowledged that without foreign direct investments, which have already reached $1.5 billion so far in 2016, it would be impossible to return to growth. He paid particular attention to the upcoming resumption of the credit line by the International Monetary Fund IMF, which he called “not a panacea but an indicator …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation