President Alexander Lukashenko said this week that he does not wish to choose between Russia and the European Union, according to Reuters. Stronger EU ties would benefit the economy, but Belarusians rely on Russian business to sustain their economy. The EU issued sanctions on Belarus in 2010 in response to harsh crackdowns on political dissidents, but the sanctions were subsequently lifted in February 2016.
Increasingly the saga of East-West economic relations is developing independently of the actual conflict in Ukraine and the surrounding region, leading to various unexpected outcomes.
Belarus is a lower middle income economies comes under Europe and Central Asian region as to the classification made by the world bank on the basis of income and region for the year 2006.
The Belarus economy was largely suffered from the problems of rising inflation in the late 1990s. Its economic performance was largely led by the industrial sector. The present economy is running with a state control in the presence of free market system.
Although the President of Belarus pushed “Market Socialism” in 1995, this country has experienced very little structural reform. To help the country’s economy, the state has been given greater control over pricing, exchange rates, and management of private enterprises expansion. Then in 2005, several private companies were renationalized and businesses around the country have been pushed to make regulatory changes such as more frequent and in-depth inspection, as well as arrest of corrupt executives and business owners.
