Lukashenka demands Makei to find new sales markets

The dictator demands to diversify exports and to active search for new sales markets.

This demand was announced by him on December 12 at the meeting with Belarus’ Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei, BelTA informs.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka stressed that from the point of view of foreign policy priorities and interests, things are not bad.

“We do not have any ambitions on the international arena; we do not claim to be a global power; we do not interfere with other countries' problems and domestic matters. We need to deal with our own issues first,” he said. “We do not want to create any problems for our neighbors and any other state in the world. We are not able to do it in the first place. We cannot remember a single incident when any of our neighbors complained that we intervened with their domestic affairs.”

Speaking about economic matters, the dictator noted that a number of issues had already been discussed. “Naturally, some chronic problems remain, including exports. We have an open economy and sell most of our output abroad. This fact underpins our foreign economic strategy,” he noted.

“Yesterday we agreed that the government would sort things out and remind Belarusian diplomatic missions to give a bigger priority to this matter. Every ambassador should be concerned with the exports, in particular, in view of the situation on the Russian market. This is our major market; we sold nearly half of our output there. You see what is happening there. The situation is not simple in Kazakhstan, either. They devalued their national currency not so long ago. Ukraine is broke and this is also one of our major markets,” Lukashenka stated.

In this regard Lukashenka underlined that “the diversification of exports and the search for new markets are of utmost importance. It is a matter of survival for Belarus, and the Foreign Ministry should proceed from this in the first place”.

Photo: Reuters