Belarusian ruble to U.S dollar rate will remain unchanged, Makei says

MINSK, 9 June (BelTA) - The official exchange rate of Belarusian ruble against the U.S. dollar will remain unchanged in the near future, the head of the Presidential Administration of Belarus Vladimir Makei told reporters on 8 June following the meeting on important economic issues.

“The exchange rate, which has been set by the Government and the National Bank at the level of approximately Br5,000 per 1 dollar will not change in the near future. This rate has been well thought out and verified by the Government and the National Bank,” the head of the Presidential Administration said.

“I would advise those who are sitting on sacks of dollars and waiting for devaluation not to waste time and put the money into the economic turnover. Otherwise, they will lose much more in the future,” said Vladimir Makei.

“The official exchange rate has been well adjusted and hard won. It will not change in the near future,” he stressed.

According to the Head of the Presidential Administration, different opinions on this matter were voiced during the meeting. However, the President clearly expressed his support for the official rate.

“Of course everything can be given away to the free-market economy. Where are the guarantees that this step will bring success? Let us take Greece for an example. The country, just like Belarus, with a 10 million population. An estimated ?100 billion has been injected into its economy by the European Union. The money has just melted somewhere. Another ?100 billion is planned to be pumped there. This is the market economy in all its glory,” Vladimir Makei noted.

“With this sum on hands we would build a country of future. We have no such money unfortunately. That is why we should take very careful steps and make only well-thought decisions,” the official stressed.