On 31 January, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko met with Pyotr Prokopovich, the Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus, to receive his report.

In 2007, the country met all its monetary policy targets, Pyotr Prokopovich said.

In 2007, Belarus managed to accumulate considerable gold and foreign currency reserves, thus creating a necessary foundation for reinforcing the national currency in 2008 and in the upcoming years. The reserves increased 2.9 times in 2007, and on 1 January 2008 stood at $ 5 billion.

The National Bank fulfilled all the instructions given by the President to provide loaning for national programmes and the real production sector of the Belarusian economy. In 2007, the amount of loans provided for the afore-mentioned purposes was twice as big as that stipulated in the Basic Guidelines of the Monetary and Credit Policy.

Urgent measures were taken to make sure that all the targets of the 2008 monetary policy were met. For example, 41 per cent more loans will be provided for the entities of the real production sector this year. Additional measures were elaborated to carry out an effective interest rate policy, to bolster the national payment system.

The Head of State said he wanted to see all the targets of the 2008 national monetary policy met in full.

The President was informed on the fulfilment of his earlier instructions relating to the development of rowing sports in Belarus and improving sports facilities as a whole. This year, two new rowing canals are to be opened: one in Zaslavl and the other one in Gomel. Several rowing facilities will be revamped so that more people could train there and that the national rowing teams could have well-equipped facilities where they could train and prepare themselves for competitions.

The President supported the proposals to boost these kinds of sport in Belarus, and gave instructions to do everything necessary to ensure effective preparation of the national teams for the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing and other international competitions.