On 1 October Belarus’s foreign debt made up 6.2 billion dollars, as the Belarusian statistical committee reported to RIA Novosti.
The spokesman of Belstat noted that the public debt increased by 2.5 billion dollars or by 66,5% as compared with the beginning of the year.
In accordance with the law of Belarus "On the republican budget of 2009" the growth line of the foreign public debt is 8 billion dollars.
The country’s foreign-trade balance is unfavourable and makes up 3.6 billion dollars, with the projection for 2009 minus 1.5 million dollars.
Belarus’s president Aliaksandr Lukashenka expressed at Friday’s conference on the economic state of the country his displeasure with the unfavourable foreign-trade balance.
"Why does that happen that we work with fast enough paces, like in the previous year, but trade in such a way that there is a lack of moneys to resume production process?", asked Lukashenka.
"It should not be so. A lot follows from here: the value of the Belarusian rouble, stability of the national currency, and hence sovereignty and independence of the state", he said.
"I need not excuses and self-accounts. Everybody knows which situation we have today. There is a certain statistics. I need answers to the challenges that the world crisis sent us. I need answers to the questions on efficiency rates of the work of some departments and enterprises and what we will do", said the Belarusian leader.
The president stated a difficult situation in the Belarusian economy. "According to statistical data, the overall economic growth is slowing down. The excess stocks of finished products in warehouses of enterprises remain high. Merchandise export is falling back and the negative foreign-trade balance is rising. The financial state of enterprises and organisations is worsening. The problem credit debts are growing. There are no positive tendencies on the consumer market of the country as well", said Lukashenka.
"We should admit that the instruments we used in favourable time do not work properly in the time of the world crisis", acknowledged Lukashenka.
He urged the government to implement more efficient methods of work.
