President Lukashenko Reminds of Need to Boost Labor Productivity in Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has once again emphasized the importance of increasing labor productivity and the competitiveness of domestically produced goods. This statement was made during a meeting with the Governor of Russia’s Kaliningrad region, Alexey Besprozvannyh, reports BELTA.

“We have role models to learn from. Let’s be honest—Europeans are quite impressive in this regard,” the head of state remarked.

He pointed out that, given the shortage of labor resources, people from other regions of the world have begun arriving in Belarus, which has elicited certain reactions within society. “I say: fine, we won’t invite anyone here—our borders are strictly controlled—but if we want to stay competitive with the European Union, our labor productivity must be three to five times higher. Because if we are not competitive with the EU, we have no business engaging in trade with them—especially in relations between Kaliningrad and Belarus—since our economy aligns with that of the entire European Union. We must compete with them. And that, first and foremost, requires a capable workforce,” Lukashenko stated.

“We are addressing these issues, and I am confident we will succeed. The main thing is not to create additional difficulties—keeping the key interest rate at a reasonable level so that industrialists can obtain loans, produce the necessary goods, and sell them. Across our vast homeland, we need everything. There is not a single product that our people do not need. We must focus on that. And what we sell abroad is an added benefit,” the President concluded.