From Concerns to Opportunities — Lukashenko Shares How BelNPP Opened New Avenues in Economy

At a meeting in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko described how the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant has influenced the country's development, despite initial concerns about an excess of electricity, BELTA reports.

"I must tell you: we were worried too. We didn't have an energy shortage (before the construction of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant – BELTA). We were worried about building the plant and what would happen next," the head of state noted.

However, the availability of additional electricity has led to the development of entire sectors, including the country's economy. Electric vehicles are becoming more common, and charging stations are being built. "The most important thing we've already experimented with is converting residential buildings to electricity (heating and hot water – BelTA)," Alexander Lukashenko shared.

Vladimir Putin also noted the opportunity to more actively develop artificial intelligence and create data centers.

"We're keeping the stations that used to run on gas in cold mode (maintaining their operation – BelTA). We've actually installed them there – we're running mining and so on. Foreigners are paying into the budget, and these stations are operating. Therefore, we're practically buying and will continue to buy the same volumes of gas from Gazprom. I think Gazprom will benefit from this. Natural gas is needed everywhere today," the Belarusian President said.