Lukashenko: the time is almost wartime, the economy has become a real battlefield.
"The event does not have a ceremonial character. I would very much like it to be a working one, - the head of state immediately emphasized upon arrival. - We are in a very difficult situation. From the east and from the west, we are under serious pressure. I am talking about the economy. Although politics is also an expression of the economy in concentrated form, as the classics used to say. Nevertheless, we are economically squeezed by two powerful blocs. On one side, the European Union. On the other - the People's Republic of China and Russia. Our main ally and partner is in a very difficult position, we feel this, as it is our main market."
Alexander Lukashenko noted that the day before, at a meeting with the State Secretary of the Union State, Sergey Glazyev, the situation was discussed from an economic perspective in the common space. "We came to a unanimous opinion that it simply will not happen," he said.
"Well, that's what we are for, as we are called, the elite - the most prepared and informed people. And in any situation, we must work and deliver results. Therefore, I urge you to have a very candid conversation. There is no need to embellish anything. Carefully, subtly, but we, even when checking the Armed Forces, openly talk about our shortcomings. Which is generally never accepted in any state," said Alexander Lukashenko.
"The time is almost military. Why? The economy has become a real battlefield. Economic tools achieve the goals of classical war: to seize resources, provoke social protests, force compliance with rules that are not ours - to live by different rules, - said the head of state. - I want you to open your eyes and understand how the world is developing. The Lord has spared us from this terrible incomprehensible market economy. Remember, we were taught all the time: the market will regulate everything. We didn't abandon anything, we endured and today we understood: no market regulates anything. I glanced to the north - Greenland is rich and so on - let's bring it here. Even Canada, one of the largest countries in the world, should be the 51st state. Venezuela: they grabbed the President. What cartel, what drugs? Oil!"
"And I am grateful to the President of the USA for doing this openly. We now understand where we were being dragged. Through some liberal principles, we were convinced that we should act this way and not that way. We endured, we understand what to do, where to go. We must only rely on ourselves. We should not count on anyone else. The best friends are at least our competitors," the head of state emphasized.
Alexander Lukashenko listed such economic tools that are used for the purpose of pressure.
First - sanctions."But for you and for me, they do not exist. If we started to refer to sanctions, we would no longer exist, - emphasized the Belarusian leader. - As soon as we drill into our heads that it is impossible to work - that's it, we will perish. It is not easy now. The failure of January of this year indicates that it will be very difficult. But everywhere there are responsible people who must deliver results. If there are no results - we will come to a military economy. And there, they do not talk until three."
The head of state noted that more than fifty countries of the world are under the direct impact of sanctions, and the secondary effect probably concerns hundreds of states already. Alexander Lukashenko supported the idea of creating an association of countries around the world that are under sanctions, including China. "If we unite and come to an agreement, those who imposed sanctions against us will be scared," said the President.
Second - embargo."The trade blockade and asset freeze are suffocating Cuba today in front of the whole world," said Alexander Lukashenko.
Third - tariff wars. Here in the arsenal are duties, quotas, and bans on the import and export of certain goods.
Fourth - currency attacks."Due to the restriction on the circulation of dollars, pressure on the exchange rate, and calculations in a certain currency, an attempt was made to organize a color revolution in Iran," said the President.
Fifth - the struggle for technology.There is competition in its most blatant, neo-colonial form, noted the Belarusian leader. This is a ban on the supply of equipment, chips, software, and blocking access to high-tech industries.
Sixth - supply chain control, i.e. an attempt to make other countries dependent on logistics and infrastructure.
"Belarus has fully experienced this entire bouquet of 'civilized rules'. At the same time, as we agreed once, we study and understand external conditions, but we must work under conditions of restrictions and sanctions," emphasized Alexander Lukashenko.
The head of state identified the theme of the event as summarizing the government's activities in 2025 and determining the economic prospects for the current year.
Moreover, the results of January 2026 are already known. As reported to the President, the government and the National Bank, the chairmen of the regional executive committees completely failed January.
"I postponed the government report to this time so that we already had accurate results from last year and received the results of the first month to determine and see the trend," said Alexander Lukashenko.
"The government is not only the prime minister and his deputies, the heads of ministries, but also the staff of the Council of Ministers' Office, the directors of the most important organizations, without which no issue can be resolved. That is why I asked government members and our leading figures to invite, so that they understand the responsibility that lies upon us this year," noted the President.
Lukashenko drew the government's attention to the decline in industry
"The entire year in this crucial sector saw a steadily slowing trend, with a negative dynamic of 98.2% in the second half of the year. January 2026 - another minus 3.4%. Half of the manufacturing industry is in a difficult situation, - said the President. - In the key Russian market, only Minprom fell short by $1 billion last year. All its enterprises are in the red zone. We are observing a decline in the production of key goods."
Lukashenko identified problematic issues in the agricultural sector, despite a good harvest
"Against the backdrop of a good harvest, the overall result of agriculture is not much better than a year ago. At the same time, agricultural organizations operated at a rate of 102.7%. This means our course towards large-scale farming is generally correct," said the President. "Livestock has increased (103%), and a record export of food products has been achieved - $10 billion. However, the unacceptable situation with livestock deaths and the chronic debt of agricultural organizations tarnish these final results."
Lukashenko focuses on continuous work to improve quality and reduce costs
Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that in recent years there has been a complete cessation of efforts to reduce costs, production costs, and savings. "This topic has essentially disappeared from the government's agenda. Have you forgotten that besides the market, there are also such economic concepts?" - the head of state addressed those present. He noted that significant costs hinder successful competition in foreign markets with foreign samples.
The President placed special emphasis on continuing work on the quality of the produced goods. Moreover, the quality five-year plan in Belarus is ongoing.
The President stated that the integral result of the past year is a modest growth of the economy of the regions and the country as a whole. "In the matrix of tasks of the vertical of power, most of them are in the red zone (GDP, exports, inflation, stock levels, cost levels, and so on)!" - said the head of state.
Alexander Lukashenko believes that the government is not yet sufficiently immersed in sectoral problems and the situation at a number of significant enterprises. "Do you prefer to be together with the National Bank in the euphoria of macroeconomic stability?" - the President posed the question.
"All your turnover is in foreign currency revenue!" Lukashenko encourages exporters to work actively
"Trade in goods for export was almost worse than the previous year for most of last year. Negative values were only overcome in November-December. And, it would seem, one could be proud of the result - the five-year export plan was fulfilled. However, the targets for the export of specific goods that you set for yourselves were not met even halfway last year," said the President.
People eat products, not statistics. Lukashenko instructed to ensure strict control over prices
The number one issue concerning citizens, the President called inflation. "No matter how much the government tries to lull us, saying they fell a bit short, the fact is - price growth is 106.8% against a target of 105%", stated Alexander Lukashenko.
In this regard, the consolidated figure from Belstat is viewed by the head of state as "the average temperature in the hospital." For many goods that are sensitive to people, prices have risen significantly more. For example, pork - almost by 15%, beef - by 12%, fish - by 11%, milk and kefir - by 9-10%, butter (of which there are 40 thousand tons in warehouses) - by 8%, buckwheat - by 11%, confectionery products - almost by 15%, carrots and cabbage - by 19-27%. And this is despite the fact that some farmers, in particular the farm "Novitsky" in the Luninets district, did not know where to put these vegetables, noted the head of state.
The head of state critically noted that the domestic demand for a number of product positions is still not being met, and sufficient measures to saturate it have not been taken. In particular, last year, buses (over 500 units), freight vehicles (over 7,500 units), and road and construction equipment (1,623 units) were massively imported. Although all this equipment is produced in the country.
Lukashenko: in all areas it is necessary to urgently get rid of "budget suckers"
As the head of state noted, the pressing issue is the personnel shortage, especially outside the capital and regional centers. At the same time, there are numerous budget organizations in the country. "I am talking about hundreds of budget leeches in almost every department and ministry. Patronage positions for retired officials and so on," the President said, emphasizing that these words do not apply to ordinary schools, hospitals, sports sections, and the like.
Lukashenko supported the idea of uniting countries around the world that are under sanctions
"Under direct sanctions today there are already 50 countries in the world. The secondary effect concerns probably hundreds of states. And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has approached me as the chairman of the Supreme State Council (of the Union State. - Note by BELTA), so that we consider the issue, and somehow all those under sanctions unite. We also persuaded China. He doesn't need to be persuaded, he understands that he will be next," said the head of state.
Speaking on the topic of labor and earnings, the head of state emphasized: "Essentially, this is the quintessence of all economic programs. In each of them, we set an invariably correct goal - the growth of the population's well-being. Qualitative growth must be ensured by effective labor."
However, now the growth of real wages is outpacing labor productivity, noted the President. Thus, in 2025, the labor productivity growth rate is 101%, and the real wage growth rate is 109%. The average salary is 2693 BYN ($886). "Moreover, this trend has been ongoing for several years. What is the price of such prosperity that we flaunt as a great achievement?" - said Alexander Lukashenko.
"We are waiting for a qualitative breakthrough from science as an innovative basis for the development of the real sector. The most dynamic person has headed the Academy of Sciences, sensible, literate, and initiative-driven. A lot has been said in recent months. Two years ago, we created the Council for Strategic Projects, including scientists and ministers, heads of enterprises, and a banker. However, from this structure, I have not seen any powerful initiatives, nor even any minor projects," said Alexander Lukashenko.
The President inquired about what specific proposals from the council are included in the State Program for Innovative Development for the five-year period, and noted that so far there is "only a process reduced to meetings and reports to themselves." "We have a chronically low level of implementation of scientific developments in the country. Even 10% of existing industrial productions cannot be classified as high-tech," the head of state emphasized.
The head of state, in his speech, touched upon the issue of the quality of the government's work. "We need to spend more time in the regions and at enterprises, communicate with specialists, rather than just going out for short informational events, ceremonial meetings, and lunches. Otherwise, you will finally turn into, as you are often criticized, a "post office" for sending documents," said Alexander Lukashenko.
Lukashenko instructed the government to systematically engage in the modernization of thermal and electrical networks
The President focused on issues such as roads, major repairs of housing, and water quality. He emphasized that the government has all the tools to effectively address these issues. Among them are state programs and special powers.
"For example, the new decree on housing and communal services provides for an increase in funds for allocations to water utilities and for wastewater treatment facilities. Therefore, the "Clean Water" project should be implemented as a priority throughout the country," - instructed the Belarusian leader.
Lukashenko: Belarus has conducted and will continue to conduct a multi-vector policy
"We have conducted and will continue to conduct a multi-vector policy. The only question is that one vector remains with us (you know it), the second vector shifts southward - to Africa, Asia, and to those countries where we are awaited, - said the President. - At the same time, we must not underestimate Europe in any way. We are the center, part of this Europe. Yes, today it is not easy with the European Union, it will not be easier."
"We have restructured our foreign policy. If the West does not want to cooperate with us (they really want to cooperate, but you understand the matter), we have redirected some of our diplomatic missions and ambassadors to the East - where we are awaited - in Africa and so on," noted Alexander Lukashenko.
"The basis for further effectiveness". Lukashenko outlined "instant" tasks for the government
"Right now, the government's top priority, immediate tasks are to urgently stop the decline in industry and unload warehouses. All key enterprises should have been literally taken under manual control as of yesterday. God forbid you offload any products to someone without money from the warehouses," said Alexander Lukashenko.
The President instructed to assign specialists from ministries or concerns to the locations who can review the work of marketers, sales services, and procurement systems. "The task is one - urgently find new contracts. Next - signal upwards to your minister, let him seek financial support for this export (especially to new markets) together with the deputy prime minister and banks," he emphasized.
"You forgot the year 2020!" Lukashenko demands not to allow complacency in anything
"I often say: you forgot the year 2020! And if you think that 2020 is about some external enemies... No, if it weren't for our internal situation, no enemies would have intruded here. And if they had intruded, we would have stopped them in the first days. But our complacency... I observe this even now, everywhere," - emphasized the Belarusian leader.
Lukashenko called "One District - One Project" a litmus test for the work of regional leaders
The President emphasized the importance of investment projects, especially in the regions: "If we do not preserve the material foundation of our economy through new industrial sites and productions - we will never stop the outflow of people."
Source:belta.by