Aliaksandr Lukashenka said he was concerned that investment projects agreed during his foreign visits could become bogged down in bureaucracy. He made the remarks at a meeting on ways to accelerate work on key investment projects.
Lukashenka reminded those present of his recent trips to Russia, China, Indonesia and Myanmar, as well as other foreign visits. In his view, they have produced positive results because “they lead to concrete and significant agreements on expanding cooperation.”
“These trips have produced substantial results. But I am afraid of bureaucratic delays, that all of this could get bogged down,” he said, according to his press service.
He said he had convened the meeting to find out how those agreements were being implemented.
“The main thing is the economy, the foundation. We must not allow this to get bogged down, so that these trips, especially those made by the head of state, are not merely symbolic and without purpose. But beyond that, ministers and the prime minister also make such trips. That is all well and good, it is diplomacy. They travelled. But what is the result?
No one should come back empty-handed. That is why, concerned about the results of trips at the highest level, I had to convene this meeting,” he continued.
Lukashenka also outlined specific concerns.
“It is important to understand what is holding us back. First of all, our own sluggishness, lack of discipline and bureaucracy. We create artificial problems for ourselves and then spend months heroically fighting them,” he said.
He then cited the example of a planned new pulp and paper mill in Vitsyebsk Region.
“It turns out that two presidential decrees are needed: the first literally to clear the construction site of previous investors, and the second to launch the new investment project. Whether it is one decree or two does not matter, but submit them. Officials have been going around in circles for months, and the project is not moving.
I ask that for every investment project we discuss, you clearly explain where the real problems are and where the delays are on our side,” he said.
As a reminder, the memorandum on the construction of the mill with Oman was signed in October last year during the visit of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said to Minsk. The facility in Dubrouna was expected to be built within five years. Total investment in the project was estimated at about $1.4 billion. The mill is expected to have an annual production capacity of around 800,000 tonnes. The investment was discussed again in Oman during Lukashenka’s visit there in December.
“We need this very much. From what I can see from the air, we are not processing the timber that is maturing in our forests quickly enough. We need to process this raw material rationally and without excess. It is our national asset. We agreed that we would do this and that. Quite a lot of time has passed already. The government reports: we signed the memorandum, we are thinking, we are planning… How long are we going to keep planning?” Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka also raised export-related issues during the meeting.
“As for exports, our enterprises performed quite well at the beginning of this year. During the major visit to our country, many positive remarks were made and numerous plans announced. At the same time, it has long been clear that simply trading is no longer enough to successfully enter markets, especially distant ones. The task is solved through industrial cooperation, relocating final production closer to consumers, and establishing our own or joint logistics and production facilities locally. We have the necessary tools to achieve these goals, and much has been done over the past few months,” he said.
“One could say we have painstakingly assembled a pool of 60 projects (ideas) worth about $6 billion to attract investors. In June 2026, the Council of Ministers finally approved a strategy for developing multi-brand service centres for Belarusian machinery and industrial equipment in CIS countries and more distant markets. This is indispensable: no one will buy equipment unless they know it can be repaired and serviced under warranty. These documents must not gather dust but become a guide to action. And immediate action, without bureaucratic delays. My own impression is that we are still moving far too slowly,” he added.
Lukashenka also asked how financial instruments supporting exports were being used.
“If we see real prospects, if we need to establish a foothold in key markets, why are we not using state financial resources to support our flagship enterprises?” he said.
In his view, the National Bank is not sufficiently involved in the process. When budget funds or reserves are discussed, financial officials immediately point to manufacturers, saying there are no fully developed business plans.
“Then develop them! Work on them together with the Development Bank. In the end, we are talking about three to five, or at most ten, projects a year,” he said.
