Off the wire
• Backgrounder: Olympic Games 2012: London breaks world hosting record  • Tokyo stocks open lower on yen's strength, U.S. shares' slump  • Dollar changes hands in lower 101 yen range in early trade in Tokyo  • 2nd LD Writethru: DPRK fires 1 ballistic missile into east waters  • Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, Aug. 3  • Int'l travelers to expect delays at Aust'n airports as strike action looms  • 1st LD Writethru: DPRK fires 1 ballistic missile into east waters  • Rio declares holiday to prevent traffic chaos during Olympic torch relay  • News Analysis: U.S. President Obama's trade deal unlikely to pass Congress before he leaves office  • UC Berkeley's new undergraduate program to prep students for innovation  
You are here: 　 Home

Belarus forecasts 1.5 pct GDP growth for 2017

Xinhua, August 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Belarusian government expects the national economy to grow 1.5 percent in 2017, while inflation below 9 percent, Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said Tuesday.

Economic priorities of the government in the next year include restoring the balance of payment and the state budget, and containing inflation, Kobyakov told the press, adding that all the economic policy instruments would be used for those purposes.

The head of government also underlined the need to guarantee foreign debt payment without reducing the reserves of the country.

Belarus' public debt payments will be 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, he said.

The prime minister also said measures will be taken to make the Belarusian economy more competitive and to reduce its dependence on the commodity markets.

Prices for oil products and potash fertilizers, two major Belarusian exports, have significantly dropped in recent months. Endi