Belarusian President Criticizes President Bush's Inauguration Speech 

Alexander Lukashenko criticized the US President's inauguration statement. "The USA openly states that it is destined to carry freedom to every nation. But, perhaps, someone does not need their freedom, drenched in blood and smelling of oil," Alexander Lukashenko said at the Belarusian Security Council's meeting. 

"I do not want to be a great leader that opposes Americans, NATO, and so on. The Belarusian people has not set these goals for me. But as we live in a democratic and, as they say, free society, we should have the right to say openly what is going on in the world," the Belarusian President said. 

Belarus is ready to cooperate with the NATO, but only if Belarusian national interests are observed and only on an equal and mutually beneficial basis, the President emphasized. 

Belarus Remarks on Condoleezza Rice Statement 

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry commented on the fact that U.S. Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice mentioned Belarus among the countries she labeled as "outposts of tyranny". 

"The mentioning of Belarus in Rice's statement shows that her vision of the situation in Belarus is unfortunately too far from reality now," spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Andrei Savinykh stated. 

"False stereotypes and prejudices are a bad foundation for pursuing an efficient policy in the sphere of relations between countries," he underlined. 

"Only a constructive dialog based on common sense and the existing realities will help normalize relations between our countries," Savinykh said.

Belarus Starts Cooperation with Latin America

Belarus starts realization of the agreements which were reached in the course of the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Sergey Martynov to Latin America. A pilot shipment of Belarusian tiers for passenger cars have been already sent to the Brazilian branch of "Ford". "The preliminary positive test results were received", said MFA representative.

During the visit, specific agreements were made for shipment of chemical products of "Polymir" to Argentina and acrylic fibers to Brazil. A visit of Argentinean delegation from "PLA" enterprise also is expected in the first quarter of 2005. "PLA" is ready to conduct negotiations with representatives of "Minsk Tractor Works" (MTZ) on the creation of the Belarusian tractors assembly plant in Argentina. 

Belarusian Interior Ministry Fights Human Trafficking

Belarus is an active member of the four International Conventions on the human trafficking prevention. Our country also joined several international treaties on fighting against that crime. In particular, Belarus participates in the Interpol Secretary General's "Red Routs" Project which fights women trafficking. According to the Belarusian representative of the law enforcement agency, the Project is aimed for collection of information about persons involved in human trafficking in countries of origin as well as in countries of transit and destination. 

The Ministry of Interior Affairs also noted that in accordance with the existing Belarusian legislation it is necessary to obtain special license for an agency providing employment abroad. Currently 61 firms that could provide such services are registered in Belarus.
The Interior Ministry also monitors the activities of the agencies providing employment abroad to prevent human trafficking. It is also possible to have consultations in the Ministry in case of uncertain business reputation of a job agency.

On Meeting on Issues of Obtaining a Sovereign Credit Rating for Belarus

On January 12, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting on the issues of obtaining a sovereign credit rating (SCR) for Belarus. 

At the meeting Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that the issue of obtaining the SCR must be managed very prudently. The obtaining of the SCR for Belarus is not a goal per se, but one of the tools for addressing the main objective; i.e. to enhance the economic growth and improve the quality of life for the people, the President said.

State Newspapers Have More Subscribers in 2005

Belarusian state-owned newspapers have gained 25% more subscribers as compared with the last year, Belarusian Minister of Information Vladimir Rusakevich said. 

“The Information Ministry is satisfied with the results of this year’s subscription, as a 25% surge is a great achievement,” the Minister stated. In particular, “Sovetskaya Belorussiya" crossed the 500,000-line.”

The circulation of "Respublika" amounted to 50 thousand, "Zvyazda", almost 50 thousand, "Narodnaya Gazeta", 29 thousand, "Belorusskaya Niva", 30 thousand, "Znamya Yunosti", 16.5 thousand copies, Rusakevich reports.

The total circulation of state-owned mass media reached 650 thousand copies. 

Deputy Foreign Minister on Fight against International Terrorism

Belarus speaks out in favor of preservation of the central role of the UN and the UN Security Council in regulating main international issues, especially in terms of the use of force, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affaires of Belarus Alexander Sychev said.

In 2004 Belarus joined 12 UN comprehensive conventions and protocols on the fight against international terrorism. Belarus also backs the prompt accession of all states to these international documents as well as overcoming present contradictions hampering the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and the Nuclear Terrorism Convention.

“Different views on the fight against terrorism have had a great influence on the relations between states”. Belarus makes part of an informal global anti-terrorist coalition which was formed around the UN. “This coalition consolidating a major part of countries sees the fight against terrorism based on the international law,” Alexander Sychev said.

“On the other hand, there is a coalition led by the USA and Great Britain. Of all other means this group has chosen to resort to violence in tackling terrorism threats. The members of the coalition conducted a military operation in Afghanistan and invaded Iraq. The military operation in Iraq has caused the greatest tension in the world. Greater part of the international community opposed the unilateral actions of the allied troops bypassing the UN Security Council. Only the UN Security Council is authorized to determine if there is a threat to the international community and to decide which measures should be taken for supporting or restoring international peace and security,” Alexander Sychev added.

On Creation of New International TV Channel “Belarus-TV”

The new international TV channel “Belarus-TV” was created by the National State TV and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus and will become the first national TV channel for the audience living abroad.

The channel’s audience is Belarusian nationals and also those who have family or professional relations with Belarus and all those who would like to know more about Belarus. This is why the channel will broadcast best programs of the Belarusian producers of tele-, film and video products. 

“Belarus-TV” will broadcast only national music, both classical and modern. Foreign viewers will have an opportunity to learn about the most striking projects, for example programs of the International Art Festival “Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk”. 

Since May 2004 some programs of the first national TV channel have been broadcast abroad via satellite “Intelsat 904”. The technical characteristics of “Belarus-TV” allow for its broadcast in practically all post-Soviet countries, in particular, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Baltic states, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Moldova. The additional equipment would enable the channel to retransmit to cable operators of Poland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Romania, Turkey, Iraq and Iran.

Belarus GDP Grows by 11% in 2004

Belarus GDP grew by 11% in 2004, the Belarusian Statistics and Analysis Ministry reported. Agricultural output increased by 12.9% in 2004 and fixed capital investment rose by 20.2%. 

Belarus foreign trade rose by 34.6% year-on-year in January-November 2004, with exports growing by 34.9% and imports by 34.4%. Real incomes increased by 12.7% over the eleven months. 

The Belarusian GDP expanded by 6.8% in 2003 and by 4.7% in 2002. 

Average GDP in the CIS increased by 7.0% year-on-year in January- November, industrial product by 8% and retail trade by 12% on average. 

Belarus Posts Most Jan-Nov Industrial Growth in CIS 

Belarus showed the highest industrial growth among Commonwealth of Independent States countries in January-November 2004, with output increasing by 15.8% year-on-year, the CIS Inter-Governmental Statistics Committee reported. 

In January-November industrial output grew by 13.8% in Tajikistan, by 13.4% in Ukraine, by 10.0% in Kazakhstan, by 6.6% in Moldova, by 6.2% in Russia, by 5.7% in Azerbaijan, by 4.9% in Kyrgyzstan, by 3.9% in Georgia and by 1.4% in Armenia. The Committee had no figures for either Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan. 

Belarus’ International Reserves Up To $770.2 Mln 

Belarusian international reserves, based on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) methodology, rose by 54.4% in 2004 to U.S. $770.2 million as of January 1.

As of January 1, foreign currency reserves amounted to $690.4 million, monetary gold amounted to $79.4 million, while other assets were at $0.4 million.

The National Bank started using the IMF methodology to calculate its gold and foreign currency reserves in 2004 to increase the transparency of Belarus’ statistics.

Minsk Tractor Plant Increases Tractor Export

In 2004 national unitary enterprise Minsk Tractor Plant (MTZ) increased export of tractors by 44.6%.

Exports to Russia equaled 13,587 tractors (74.5% up on 2003), other CIS states - 7,330 tractors (32.3% up), non-CIS states – 10,226 tractors (24.7% up). The company sells around 80% of the output abroad.

Kommunarka Awarded with Government’s Prize 

The Belarusian Government’s Prize for quality achievements was awarded to Minsk-based Kommunarka confectionary enterprise. 

The prize was given for the implementation of highly productive quality management methods and production of competitive goods. According to the enterprise specialists, implementation of quality management systems based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) principles in October 2004 was the factor that helped to obtain the prize. 

Since December 2002 a quality management system was introduced at the factory. It was developed in compliance with STB ISO 9001-2001 requirements. The next step in the enterprise’s development will be the implementation of an environment management system in compliance with ISO 14000 requirements. 

Products made at Kommunarka are attractive to customers because only natural and ecologically clean raw materials are used in the production. The strategy for enterprise development lies in the technical modernization of the enterprise. 

At present, Kommunarka exports more than 46 percent of goods. Confections, among other countries, are exported to the United States. 

Belarusians Win 19 Medals at Deaflympics

Belarus will give a warm welcome to athletes, returning home from the 2005 Deaflympics in Melbourne (Australia). Belarusian athletes have won 19 medals at the competitions (4 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze). Belarus was represented by 19 athletes. Belarusian sportsmen competed in athletics, swimming, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. Belarusian Deaflympians also won 4th prize in beach volleyball. 

Sergei Voinitskiy Wins 3rd Prize at International Musical Contest in St. Petersburg

Student of Belarusian State Music Academy Sergei Voinitskiy was awarded with the 3rd prize at the 7th International Musical Contest of Pianists, Piano Duets and Chamber Companies named after Maria Yudina, which was held in St. Petersburg.

Belarusian third-year student Sergei Voinitskiy is a student of professor of the special piano department Zoya Kacharskaya.

The Maria Yudina annual musical contest has been held since 1998. 120 young musicians at the age of 14-29 from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Belgium, Germany, Check Republic, China, Southern Korea, Japan and USA.