Lukashenko convened meeting on 2026 draft forecasts: the situation still unclear

On October 16th, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko convened a meeting to review the draft forecast documents for 2026. The topics on the agenda included the economic forecast and the budget for the coming year. Leadership from the Government and Parliament, the Belarus President Administration, the National Bank, major ministries and departments, along with heads of regional executive committees, were invited to participate in the discussion at the Palace of Independence.

The Head of State noted that the implementation of the sixth five-year programme is nearing its completion, “There are only a couple of months left until the end of the year, and it is essential to make incredible efforts to achieve the set targets. So far, the situation is still unclear. On one side, there is an obvious result: real wages and overall incomes of the population are consistently rising. Pensions have been increased twice this year. Our national currency is strong. Gold and foreign currency reserves are growing at an unprecedented pace. Even liberals are beginning to question whether we need such large amounts. On the other side, several traditional industries are currently experiencing a decline. Three out of the five key forecast indicators for this year are not being met so far. Meanwhile, the GDP has grown by less than 2 percent over the past eight months."