Lukashenko: Belarus' capabilities are in great demand in Russia

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the withdrawal of “old friends” from Russia and Belarus enabled the two countries to develop their industries using their own base. Fortunately, this base has been preserved.

“Today, Belarus is in demand as a high-tech country. I am saying this not because I consider my country the greatest one, but because we were a high-tech region in the Soviet times (this is how the national economy was built then). All raw materials moved to the West via us. We processed them and made competitive goods. Otherwise, the Soviet Union would not have been able to sell them outside the country. We have preserved this base,” the president emphasized.

The country has preserved its industrial giants, including thanks to the government's well-considered policy: the authorities have introduced a ban on a sweeping sale of property, especially large enterprises. “As it was the case in the 1990s with private traders seen as general welfare. Private traders seek their own interests only. The state always bears huge responsibility. The state is responsible for the people living here,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the head of state, the country does not prevent the private sector from developing, with these enterprises making a significant contribution to the national budget. “We have preserved the fundamental, key industries. We are now trying to build a network of small-sized enterprises that will work for the key enterprises,” the head of state added. “In mechanical engineering, small companies can produce nuts, bolts and parts and help huge companies make progress. Of course, we still have to do a lot in this area, but the main thing is that today's level of Belarus' demand in Russia has never been seen before.”

Belarus makes both large equipment and goods for the microelectronic industry. The country has preserved its machine tool and equipment manufacturing base. “Russians are ready to invest a lot of money in the sector, because it is hard to imagine development without these microchips. The country has tremendous technological capabilities. We have preserved our science, including fundamental science. Here, we have proceeded from our needs and export opportunities. We have built the same system in agriculture, industry and other areas,” the president said.

Belarus has recently launched the production of passenger cars. China has provided support here. Today the country is working to expand the localization scale, Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Belarus also pays close attention to the defense sector: the recent developments in the region and across the world are pushing for such steps. “Together with our elder brother [during recent negotiations of the presidents of Belarus and Russia in Sochi] we agreed how we will act in Belarus. Certainly, we don't want to reveal it in public. Our latest talks in your country were dedicated to defense and security,” the head of state said.

The president emphasized the importance of joint actions for the sake of reducing the possibility of growing challenges and threats: “Ukraine is only the beginning. We may see worse things if we don't mobilize and don't show to them that we can retaliate well. We and Russia are most of all concerned about Poland. And America stands behind Poland. They have decided to destroy everything in this area. First and foremost, the European Union. Poland is the key foothold. In 2020 they wanted to merge Belarus with Poland and make us a dividing line between Russia, the East, and the West. But they failed. This is why now we pay close attention to defense.”

Since the Soviet times Belarus has been working on electronic warfare and communication systems. The recent events have shown that this is one of the main parts of combat operations. The country is also engaged in rocket and missile engineering development. Initially, China was Belarus' partner in this sector. Now Belarus is using Russian technologies.

“We are trying to develop in all the areas. But we are not a giant country and do not have giant resources to come to any country, including Africa, to give loans and develop technologies there. We, however, have technologies in all the areas, and we are in demand today, including in Africa,” the Belarusian leader stressed.