BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

01/01/2007

Belarus faces difficult, thorny path - Lukashenko

MINSK, January 1 (Itar-Tass) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, in the New Year greeting to the Belarussian people praised the republic's economic success in the outgoing year, but noted that the country faced "a difficult and thorny path."

"We should only count on ourselves and our hands; we have to learn to work in new economic reality, live and engage in economic activities more diligently. Our tomorrow is an economy of knowledge and new technology, only thus we'll be able to strengthen sovereignty and preserve the country," the president said.

Last year, "we had to withstand massive internal and external pressure during the presidential election; but the attempt to rock the country fell through," Lukashenko underlined.

"Equity, the world order, Belarus' sovereignty, and the welfare of the nation make the basis of the policy from which we won't step tack, regardless of how much they threaten or pressurize us," the head of state noted.

According to Belarussian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky, the republic's GDP grew by 9.5 percent and industrial production by 12 percent in the outgoing year.

Source:

http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11131250&PageNum=0