Today’s top priority is, by all means, to make the independence of Belarus stronger, Alexander Lukashenko said during his State of the Nation Address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly.

“This means to ensure the right to independently implement foreign and domestic policy, to ensure national security in all spheres from defence to information and foodstuffs,” the head of state said. “This is why the motto of this Address is ‘Independent Belarus: Our Worthy and Reliable Home’,” the Belarusian President said.

“The State of the Nation Address is aimed to cover urgent issues of modern development, the country’s attitude towards them and to outline the strategic areas of state policy for the short-term period,” Alexander Lukashenko said. “We live in an increasingly interdependent world. The dynamics of development of global processes and international relations, their influence on the situation in Belarus have necessitated making certain adjustments in domestic and foreign policy of the state,” he said.

“Over the ten years we have build a modern state, we have been following our own, not imposed by anyone, way of development,” the Belarusian leader noted. “Our strategic goals of building up an economically strong, socially fair and independent state based on the progressive socio-economic development remain the same. The tactics of meeting them should be continuously updated,” said the President.