Impossible to endlessly support unprofitable enterprises

It is impossible to endlessly support unprofitable enterprises, BelTA learned from Vladimir Andreichenko, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, as he commented on the Belarus president’s address to the nation and the parliament on 30 April.

“The president was right in saying that it is impossible to endlessly use state budget funds to support enterprises. If some enterprises cannot operate on their own, they will have to change their business profile, find some other options in order to start earning profits. Because if they fail to do that, no progress will be achieved and things will end up bad for the society,” noted Vladimir Andreichenko.

The head of the lower chamber of the Belarus parliament pointed out that enterprises have to compete for state budget funds. “They should be required to prove to the government that their products can sell on foreign markets and at last they will need to reimburse the preferences provided by the state to the state budget,” said the MP.

According to Vladimir Andreichenko, it is also necessary to focus more on developing small and medium businesses. “We have the relevant legal base. Don’t tell me we lack any laws for it,” said the head of the lower chamber of the Belarus parliament. Vladimir Andreichenko went on saying that if some red-tape barriers stand in the way of the implementation of laws, then municipal authorities should take a more active stance in the matter.

The MP drew attention to increasing export as a priority. “The president said yesterday that we make products first and then think about where we can sell them. It should be the other way round. The current approach is no good. It is necessary to properly estimate the markets where we can sell merchandise at top profits. We cannot rely on trial and error,” he stressed.

According to Vladimir Andreichenko, Belarusian MPs also take part in the effort to find ways to diversify target markets. “The Belarus parliament has already been granted the observer status in the interparliamentary assembly of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Belarus’ cooperation with Vietnam and Cambodia is now more active thanks to members of the parliament. We are trying to establish contacts with Laos. We are working to get the observer status in the Latin American Parliament that includes countries with a large combined market,” noted Vladimir Andreichenko.

“It is necessary to reach new markets. Staying focused on the countries we already have contacts with is not a good idea although, for instance, in Russia there are unexplored opportunities particularly in the area of interregional cooperation. It is also necessary for municipal government agencies to take a more active part in the work,” said the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus.