President: ‘We are proud to have smart people and advanced technologies’

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the ceremony to inaugurate the centre for specialised technological equipment for the production of photomasks and micro-optics as he visited Planar on January 30th

According to the Head of State, the task for the national microelectronics industry is to ‘stay half a step ahead by making products that are in demand globally’. “This is the future,” the President said, speaking about the development of the microelectronics industry. “If you do not fall behind, you will always have work and good money. Not just from us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko told Planar Director General Sergei Avakov. “You have outpaced everything and everyone. Both in Belarus, and in Russia. You have got ahead of them all.”
According to the President, Belarus has managed to preserve the production facilities that remained after the Soviet Union. Moreover, thanks to the assistance provided by the state, the enterprises surviving from the Soviet era were successfully modernised and made cutting-edge. 

“Now our time has come. We invested that money for a reason. What people dreamed of in the Soviet period (those who laid this foundation), those dreams have begun to come true,” he continued.

At Planar, the Head of State was briefed on the enterprise’s performance over the past five years and its development prospects for the coming years. According to Planar Director General Sergei Avakov, the company’s revenue has grown fourfold over the five-year period, while its exports have increased five times. Large-scale works on modernising and expanding production are underway at Planar.
Specifically, the discussion concerned the implementation of three major investment projects. “If you keep moving at least at the current pace, there will always be a consumer for your goods and products who finds the money, including the state, it will always lend a shoulder. And not just our state, but in this case Russia as well, which needs your products very much,” the President said.
The Head of State emphasised that the technologies, equipment and products of the enterprise are unique, with such capabilities found in only five countries worldwide: the USA, Japan, Germany, Sweden and Belarus.

  

“Today, a state’s size is not defined by its land area, but rather by the level of intelligence and technological advancement. We know how to do this,” the President remarked. 

 At the same time, this is no reason to stop at what has been achieved. “We must move faster,” Aleksandr Lukashenko warned. “If we do not speed up, there will be no result. We are proud to have smart people and advanced technologies, but these advanced technologies require us to run faster and think ahead, so that others do not overtake us”.
He noted that even having oil in today’s world does not guarantee successful national development: it is no longer sufficient. “That is why we must keep running,” he said.
“Know this: no one will give you anything. There will always be those who want to take what you have, even among friends. That is why you must rely on yourselves, on your own. Produce your own, so that not only we, but also our children and grandchildren can live and work on this land,” Aleksandr Lukashenko urged.
The President assured that the state will continue to support advanced enterprises such as Planar. “We created this, invested money, and will continue to do so. We see that in just two or three years you will easily pay back these funds and produce high value-added products with profit,” he said.

  

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TO DEVELOP BILATERAL RELATIONS MORE INTENSIVELY 

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Bernard Jorg Leopold de Garcia Klingl, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brazil to Belarus, on the occasion of the conclusion of his diplomatic mission in the republic

Welcoming the diplomat, the Head of State noted that Minsk and Brasília share identical views on the world order and global governance,

“This alignment will support and is already enhancing the growth of stronger ties between our two countries. I believe we need to take a more proactive approach in strengthening our partnership. The cornerstone of this is the economy.

Therefore, we should identify areas of economic co-operation that are of interest to both Brazil and Belarus. This is achievable. We have many questions that we can discuss today. These are mutually beneficial issues that I have raised before, but some of them have not yet been resolved. Since they are mutually beneficial (as you can see, times are changing rapidly), we need to approach these issues seriously and decide whether we will move forward in this direction or not.”
In 2024, the trade volume between the two countries reached $650.7m. From January to November 2025, bilateral trade amounted to $765.8m, representing 124.6 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Belarus’ main exports included potash and nitrogen fertilisers, X-ray equipment, linen fabrics, control and measuring devices, as well as instruments for measuring and monitoring the properties of liquids and gases. Imports from Brazil primarily consisted of specialty products such as coffee, beef, and fruit and vegetable juices.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also spoke about Brazil’s upcoming election campaign.
Brazil is scheduled to hold its regular general elections in 2026, which will include the election of the president and vice president, members of the National Congress, governors, vice governors and state legislatures. “We are quite concerned about the current President of Brazil retaining his position in these elections. From what I understand, he has confirmed his intention to run again. We will do everything possible (if Brazil needs it) to help ensure the elections take place in a calm and peaceful environment, for the benefit of the Brazilian people, if necessary,” the Belarusian leader stated.

Brazil aims to resume Embraer aircraft sales to Belarus

Later commenting on areas of mutually beneficial bilateral co-operation, the diplomat highlighted interaction in the aviation sector. Specifically, he referred to the resumption of Embraer aircraft deliveries to Belarus, “In our region, we manufacture some of the best airplanes. Unfortunately, sanctions have previously impeded co-operation between Brazil and Belarus in this area. Now, we hope to renew this partnership. Of course, this depends not only on Belarus and Brazil but also on the wider political environment. Nevertheless, we believe we can overcome the remaining challenges.”
Bernard Klingl expressed confidence that co-operation between Belarus and Embraer will be beneficial for both parties, saying, “We manufacture high-quality aircraft, and Belarus can provide us with a huge market — the entire CIS region.”
Brazil is also interested in boosting potassium fertiliser supplies from Belarus. “We want not only to continue supplies of Belarusian potassium fertilisers to our country but also to increase them,” said the diplomat. He pointed out that Brazil, where agriculture is actively developing, has a great need for fertiliser supplies. “We know that Belarusian fertilisers are of very high quality, and in Soligorsk, in our opinion, they produce the highest quality potassium fertilisers for us,” the ambassador said. Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by

Photos by BELTA