The main motto for the next five-year period is “the state for the people, for the man.” We have built a sovereign state and now we will have to make it as comfortable as possible for the people to live in, ” stated President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in his address at the third All-Belarus People’s Assembly on March 2. The two-day forum is being held in the Palace of the Republic in Minsk.

The all-people’s congress has two main items on the agenda: summarizing the results of the implementation of the Programme of socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus for 2001-2005 and discussing the draft socio-economic programme for the next five-year period.

In his address at the forum, the President expounded on Belarus’ development prospects for the next five-year planning period and outlined the priority objectives whose implementation would furnish a powerful impetus to socio-economic development of our republic and would considerably raise living standards of the people.

Alexander Lukashenko underscored that Belarus had worked out its own model of development based on well-balanced and thought-out reforms. This model shuns sweeping privatization and shock therapy and preserves everything what was best in our economy and in our traditions.

“The country’s development policy line worked out by us has proved right. High rates of economic growth which our economy has been demonstrating for more than 10 years already provide a good evidence thereof,” Alexander Lukashenko said. The annual GDP growth over the past five-year planning period was 7.5 percent in Belarus as against 3.5 percent of the world average.

The President pointed out that Belarus had fulfilled the major indicators of the Programme of socio-economic development of Belarus for 2001-2005. “The secret behind our success is in strong state power, strong social policy and reliance on the people,” the Belarusian leader added.

The priority goal of the current five-year planning period is a sharp rise in living standards. We should be striving to achieve, in five years, a quality of life of our citizens comparable to the West-European standards, the President said.

Acceleration of innovations is going to be the main distinctive feature of the development of the production sector in the current five-year period. For one thing, Br 310 billion have been envisaged for the support of science during this year alone, nearly one-third more that it was targeted last year. By 2010, allocations to science will grow at least two-fold.

In the international scene, Belarus is a full-fledged and active member of the international community. What is more, it is one of few states which pursue a truly independent foreign policy, Alexander Lukashenko stated.

“Our foreign policy line is not decided in other capital cities, powerful as they might be, but is determined independently, proceeding from concrete national interests,” the Head of State said.

Belarus’ foreign policy is of exceptionally peace-loving nature. “Our republic is committed to security both in the region and in the world. We are doing everything to make relations between the main military and political organizations in Europe - CSTO and NATO – the relations of partnership and cooperation. An equal footing partnership though, not the one based on the master-and-servant principle, " Alexander Lukashenko remarked.