19 April, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. Negotiations between Belarus and Russia on the allocation of a stabilization loan have entered an active phase, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus Nikolai Luzgin told reporters today, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. "Currently, consultations between Belarus and Russia are underway, and they have entered an active phase," said Nikolai Luzgin. According to him, last week experts held negotiations in Russia. Now, information is being exchanged, positions are being compared, and forecasts for the development of the Belarusian economy are being discussed. "This week, experts are again traveling to Moscow, and on Friday, it is planned to continue the meeting at the level of deputy heads of key ministries of Belarus and Russia," he added. The First Deputy Head of the National Bank recalled that Russia, as the main donor country of the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund, has expressed its readiness to facilitate the allocation of a stabilization loan to Belarus through this anti-crisis fund. Currently, the Russian side is providing support to Belarus in preparing a program of reforms for the Belarusian economy. "This program of measures, based on the structural restructuring of the Belarusian economy, should solve the problem of the negative balance of foreign trade," he said. In conjunction with the provision of financial resources from the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund, this will help stabilize the situation on the domestic foreign exchange market. Nikolai Luzgin emphasized that one of Belarus's strategic goals is the preservation and increase of gold and foreign exchange reserves. -0-

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