Lukashenko to address Belarusian people, parliament on 31 March

“I would like to note that the head of state pays close attention to the development of the state and society. Look how busy the president's schedule is. The president has recently hosted an array of events: the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the meeting of the Security Council, the meeting with the country's law enforcement, military and security personnel, visits to industrial enterprises, trips to other countries to meet with leaders and representatives of friendly nations. These events were meant to address serious tasks across many areas: some of the tasks deal with current activities and some have to do with the future. For example, at the yesterday's meeting to announce personnel decisions, the president outlined a whole range of problems and tasks that should be addressed by new appointees and existing executives and officials,” said Igor Sergeyenko.

The president noted that this year will be remarkable in many ways. “First of all, we will be preparing for the most important political event - the election campaign. In 2024, we will have elections to the parliament and local Councils of Deputies that take place on the same day. And the election of delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress will be held in a new format for the first time. All these processes will proceed almost simultaneously. This will certainly involve a large amount of organizational and preparatory work. These are quite serious and large-scale events. Yet, another significant, fundamental event is coming soon - this is the annual Address to the Belarusian People and the National Assembly. It will take place literally this week – on 31 March, this Friday. I would like to emphasize once again that this is going to be a landmark, pivotal event, where the president will lay out the short-term development strategy for our country amidst the dynamically changing geopolitical situation. He will give answers to the questions that concern our people the most. He will also give his take on ongoing developments and offer his vision for the future. In order to thoroughly prepare for the event, the Belarus President Administration was instructed to get various government agencies, public institutions, and the scientific community involved. Development trends in the regions and public opinion were studied. These materials will give an additional perspective to the head of state regarding the current situation, and will help build the agenda of the Address. I would like to note that the president keeps working on the Address. The situation is changing rapidly, almost daily, and this document will be kept under review,” Igor Sergeyenko said.

It is planned that the event will take place in a traditional format in a solemn atmosphere of the Palace of the Republic. “It will be attended by deputies of the House of Representatives, members of the Council of the Republic, heads of ministries, state committees, local authorities, representatives of labor collectives, manufacturing, agriculture, science, education, healthcare, the media, the diplomatic corps accredited in Minsk, delegations from all regions and the city of Minsk. More than 2,500 people are to be present at the event,” Igor Sergeyenko emphasized.

“We understand that the Belarusian people are the target audience of the Address, but, naturally, the Address will be heard by a broader audience. This is another opportunity for the head of state to communicate Belarus' position to the peoples of those countries, the communication with which has been disrupted due to certain circumstances and aggravation of the international situation, a certain geopolitical confrontation. I am sure that the speech of the head of state will be bright, interesting, sharp and relevant,” the head of the Belarus President Administration said.