Belarus will achieve a positive foreign trade balance in 2015

February 1, Minsk / Olga Belyavskaya - BELTA /. Belarus will achieve a positive balance of foreign trade in goods and services in 2015. This was stated today at a meeting of the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich, according to a BELTA correspondent. The head of government stressed that in 2014 it is planned to ensure a zero balance of foreign trade in goods and services, and in 2015 to achieve a positive balance. "Unfortunately, we have to start from far from the best positions; in 2010, the economy showed the worst negative balance of foreign trade in all years," Mikhail Myasnikovich stated. "We need to turn the situation around." The Prime Minister paid special attention to the tasks outlined by the head of state in the House of Representatives on January 27. "It was said that gross indicators are good, but economic efficiency of activities of economic entities, industries, and the entire economy as a whole is necessary," he recalled. For this, according to Mikhail Myasnikovich, it is necessary to ensure a very sharp increase in labor productivity and product competitiveness. In this situation, as the Prime Minister emphasized, attention should be paid to increasing exports as the best indicator of the economy's competitiveness. Analyzing the draft program of socio-economic development for 2011-2015, as well as the draft program of the government's activities for the five-year period, Mikhail Myasnikovich noted that the tasks laid down in them are "strained and super-strained." He recalled that within the framework of refining the draft program of socio-economic development, specific mechanisms for achieving the tasks set at the All-Belarusian People's Congress should have been proposed. "We proceeded from the assumption that this should be set out in the draft program of the government's activities," Mikhail Myasnikovich added. "The leadership of the Council of Ministers oriented the developers that the government's program of activities should primarily contain norms of direct action – how, by what means, by whom, and with what resources to ensure the implementation of the indicators adopted at the All-Belarusian People's Congress and set out in the draft program of socio-economic development." -0-