27 July, Minsk /Lyudmila Sats - BELTA/. Belarus plans to attract up to $6 billion in direct investment in 2011. This was stated today by the Prime Minister of Belarus, Sergei Sidorsky, at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. Currently, the most challenging aspect of Belarus's investment policy is the attraction of direct investment. "We are setting the task for 2011 to reach the level of up to $6 billion in direct investment," said the Prime Minister. Sergei Sidorsky has tasked the regions with significantly improving their work in this area. Speaking generally about the investment situation in the country this year, he noted that in the first half of 2010, investments fell short by Br2.2 trillion. According to him, this amount will need to be compensated for in the second half of the year to achieve the planned investment growth rate for 2010 (125%). Sergei Sidorsky paid special attention to the shortcomings of some government bodies in commissioning facilities in the first half of 2010. "I ask you to treat these issues with the utmost seriousness. Investment and innovation programmes are two different documents, but they combine the most important elements – attracting direct investment and accelerated technical modernisation of the Belarusian economy," said the Prime Minister. Regarding economic development in the second half of 2010, Sergei Sidorsky emphasised that higher growth rates are planned for this period compared to the previous half-year. To achieve the main parameters for 2010 and the five-year period, further GDP growth of at least 110% must be ensured, along with good indicators for industrial production and fixed capital investment. For agriculture, there are all opportunities to make up the missing 6-7% of the plan. According to the Prime Minister, 40% of the areas have been harvested to date, with over 3 million tonnes of grain collected. Sergei Sidorsky believes there are all grounds to improve performance in the agricultural sector. In the opinion of the Prime Minister, meeting the targets for 2010 and the five-year period is realistic. At the same time, he believes that well-thought-out, meticulous work by republican and local authorities, enterprises, and organisations should play a significant role here.

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