OREANDA-NEWS  On 26 February was announced, that the Belarus will continue to implement the social programmes that had been started, notwithstanding the world financial and economic crisis, said President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko while visiting the JSC Minsk Engine Works.

The Head of State visited this company twice, once in 1994 and the other time in 2005. During his last visit, the President gave directions to increase production and expand the range of all engines with the capacity of up to 400hp and engines of the Euro-3 and Euro-4 standards.

During the 24 February visit to Minsk Engine Works the President was informed that the company had fulfilled all his directions. In 2006 the company produced 106,500 engines, in 2007 over 132,000 and in 2008 128,500.

Minsk Engine Works is now the leading manufacturer of modern diesel engines in the CIS.

In 2008 a total of 288,500 diesel engines were produced in the CIS, with Minsk Engine Works accounting 43 per cent of this number. In 2008 the return on sales was 8.1 per cent.

The level of production and sales at Minsk Engine Works depend very much on international demand, since 40 per cent of the company’s output is exported, including as part of MAZ, MTZ, Amkodor and Gomselmash trucks and tractors. The world financial crisis had a negative influence on the company’s export sales which dwindled and entailed a fall in the overall level of sales in December 2008 – January 2009.

To reverse the situation, the company came up with an anti-crisis plan, a new sales strategy, import-substitution programme and measures to reduce production costs.

The President got familiar with the full cycle of production of engines.

The Head of State praised the company’s work over the previous years, and said that production of Euro-5 engines was not only promising but also laid a good groundwork for the future.

After visiting Minsk Engine Works the President answered questions of reporters.

In April the President intends to sum up the results of the real production sector’s performance in Q1. ‘We will see the results, know the trends and will understand what direction and at what pace we should be moving. We will see the impact of the world financial crisis on our economy’, said President Alexander Lukashenko. The Head of State explained that he was paying so much attention to the manufacturing sector right now because this sector was responsible for a huge share of the nation’s exports.

The journalists were also interested whether there would be a reduction in budget revenues caused by the falling export supplies. To this the President said that there had been no problems with budget revenues in Belarus since the beginning of this year. 

One of the questions related to the process of normalisation of relations between Belarus and the West. According to Alexander Lukashenko, the recent visit to Minsk of Mr Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union – High Commissioner for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, would help improve the relations between Belarus and the European Union, and speed up the process of bringing Belarus and the EU closer to each other. The President called the talks successful.

The meeting with Mr Javier Solana was held at a good level and ended very positively. ‘ The results of the talks are good . I am quite satisfied with them. Before this meeting we could not even think of such a positive outcome’, said the President.

‘Javier Solana is one of the most experienced negotiator in foreign political issues. The main result of the talks is that Javier Solana did not set any conditions whatsoever’, said the Head of State. A range of issues was discussed during the talks, including relations prospects and significance of Belarus for Europe. ‘You know, they understand it in Europe. And I am very glad that Javier Solana said he was happy with the results of the talks, which means there is an understanding of our position’, said the President.

‘The world financial crisis has brought many back to senses. Many have begun to take a realistic view of the future’, added the President. ‘And Europe today does not see its future without Belarus. Therefore I am happy with these results. No additional conditions were set for us. We understand ourselves what we have to do, what Europe has to do in order not just to have closer positions but also to be good and true partners. I have no doubts whatsoever that the arrival of Javier Solana will improve our relations and speed up the process of becoming closer to each other’, summed up the Head of State.