Construction of NPP will strengthen Belarus's economic sovereignty - Golovchenko

The construction of its own nuclear power plant will strengthen Belarus's economic sovereignty, stated Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko today at the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.

The construction of its own nuclear power plant will strengthen Belarus's economic sovereignty, stated Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko today at the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.

"I consider the review of the framework cooperation program (in the CIS. - BELTA note) in the field of atomic energy use until 2030 and the action plan for the implementation of its first stage to be highly relevant. Today, Belarus, together with its Russian partners, is preparing for the launch of the first power unit of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant. For us, the construction of a nuclear power plant is a consolidating, creative project for the long-term sustainable development of the country and the strengthening of economic sovereignty," said Roman Golovchenko.

According to him, for Belarus, which suffered from the Chernobyl disaster, the decision in favor of building its own nuclear power plant was well-considered.

"All aspects of the development of the national nuclear energy program have been analyzed. From the very beginning of the program's implementation, Belarus has openly and with full responsibility taken and will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the highest degree of safety of the nuclear power plant," emphasized the Prime Minister.

The head of government believes that the Belarusian NPP provides a powerful impetus for the further development of the country's scientific and technical potential.

Roman Golovchenko positively assessed the interstate program of innovative cooperation of the CIS countries for the period up to 2030. "Unfortunately, some of Belarus's neighbors have shown readiness to take advantage of the complicated situation in our country to strengthen their own IT sector. At the same time, Belarus, both in the CIS and in all other formats of interstate interaction, is focused on mutually beneficial cooperation, not on petty competition," stated the Prime Minister.

In his opinion, in 2020, the CIS countries faced unprecedented external challenges. "Thanks to mutual support, we not only withstood and prevented a snowballing increase in morbidity but also promptly took a number of joint measures to support production, mutual trade, and increase economic indicators," said Roman Golovchenko.

The head of the Belarusian government expressed confidence that the effective use of integration mechanisms will allow the CIS countries "not only to cope with the consequences of the current pandemic and other challenges with dignity, but also to significantly increase the economic potential of the Commonwealth countries".