15 July, Minsk /Alina Grishkevich - BELTA/. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes it is necessary to continue the practice of creating diversified production associations in the country. The Head of State stated this today while hearing a report from Anatoly Savenok, General Director of the "Belarusian Steel Works" Production Association, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. Opening the meeting, the Head of State emphasized that the practice of hearing reports from large enterprises and associations at the Presidential level has already been established. "As you can see from today's example, this is not just the Belarusian Steel Works located in Zhlobin, but an association of four enterprises. This is also a practice of our economy, when we helped to restore production at large enterprises, when we developed them, modernized them, and then, by incorporating loss-making or abandoned enterprises, expanded the volumes and range of goods produced at the parent enterprise," noted Alexander Lukashenko. According to him, the parent enterprise, like a locomotive, pulled these lagging enterprises along. Thus, very large companies were formed. In the opinion of the Head of State, this practice needs to be developed and improved. The President said that in many countries, two large companies determine the economy of the entire state. "Therefore, we need to create diversified associations, which, by the way, we have been doing for more than one year, but for a whole decade, so that they can drive the economy of our country forward," emphasized the Head of State. Today, the implementation of the President's directive is being considered using the example of the Belarusian Steel Works. At the meeting, Alexander Lukashenko stressed: "We once supported such large enterprises as BelAZ, MAZ, Amkodor, and the Belarusian Steel Works. And when they became fully developed and modernized, demand for their products increased. Then there was not enough space for production, and we transferred loss-making enterprises, forming large companies. What interests me most is how this process is going, how they are doing with exports. Because the pressing issue is the shortage of foreign currency, which is a matter of exports." During the report, the issue of export price formation and product sales is being discussed. -0-

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