President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko convened a meeting with the leadership of the Council of Ministers, BELTA correspondent reports.

The format of the event is traditional – the head of state holds such meetings with the government regularly.

"Before making the most important decisions or decisions that resonate particularly strongly in our society, we meet with you to consult. And it is important for me, when making decisions, to receive additional information from the initiators of certain issues," the President noted.

This time, there were four such pressing issues. They concern the further development of the Belarusian Railway, the functioning of master's programs in universities, the organization of meals in educational institutions, and youth support.


"Undoubtedly, the railway is the most important enterprise not only in the transport sector but also in our entire country. Tens of millions of tons of cargo are transported by rail annually. This includes raw materials, imports, and export supplies of our products. For people, it is the cheapest and safest mode of travel. And although passenger transportation is more of a social than a commercial line of work, both need to be developed," said the head of state.

He stated that due to sanctions, as well as the situation in Ukraine, where several Belarusian freight trains were literally pirated and are being held, cargo flows had to be radically transformed, new logistics sought, and mobilization undertaken in general. Although revenues have declined, the overall transportation activities of Belarusian Railways remain profitable.

"As I am informed, the enterprise's financial situation is currently burdened by high expenses for servicing loans attracted for infrastructure projects and the purchase of new rolling stock," the head of state noted.
To stabilize the situation, a draft decree on state support for Belarusian Railways has been prepared.

Alexander Lukashenko inquired about the progress on previously made decisions. "Several years ago, we had a major discussion on this topic and decided: no Bologna Process, we have normal education," the Belarusian leader said.  

The head of state recalled that at some point, at the instigation of certain figures, the Bologna Process was popular to train "all-round specialists" who would be in demand outside the country. "I remember that conversation. Are you going to train people for foreign countries in Belarusian universities?" he asked. 

At the same time, Alexander Lukashenko noted that many foreigners study in Belarus who would like to complete their master's degrees. "Okay, let's do that. They pay money for everything, for master's degrees. Come, study for your master's degree, too. For as many years as you want. Your money, we train you. Go work wherever you want," the President said.

The Head of State recalled that the issue of establishing order in the organization of catering in educational institutions is under his constant control. "I have warned you repeatedly: robbing children, poisoning them with substandard food is a crime! And I instructed then to develop a normal system," he said.

"I would like to hear what has been done in this regard," the Head of State raised the question.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that it is sometimes difficult to imagine what, how, and who cooks in schools, although officials report that everything is under control. "It is impossible to control this," the President remarked. That is precisely why a clear system needed to be built in this matter.

Another important issue in this area is how much the proposed meals are in demand by the children themselves. "Half of it is waste," the Head of State outlined the problem. - Is this normal? What has been done to prevent this? How will we feed children so that the food is tasty, healthy, and not cold?"

The proposed measures to support youth have been submitted for discussion by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with the leadership of the Council of Ministers. The Government has submitted a draft decree "On Measures to Support Youth," BELTA correspondent reports.

The document is aimed at creating conditions for attracting and retaining young personnel in enterprises.

Alexander Lukashenko urged a balanced approach to this issue. He noted that assistance to youth should not turn into excessive guardianship, as the state also needs funds for other areas, including the development of the production sector and the economy. In addition, at a young age, people are quite capable of working and earning on their own, unlike, for example, elderly people, for whom it may be more difficult due to objective reasons.

The President noted that the construction of housing for military personnel and large families is among the state's priorities and will remain the number one issue in the future. And much is already being done to support large families, including assistance with housing construction and the payment of family capital.

However, regarding housing construction, the head of state spoke critically about the locations of houses for large families. "We started building housing in Minsk, in convenient locations, drawing labor to the cities. What are we doing?" he said. "Why are we drawing large families to Minsk? They should, like everyone else, live throughout the country. A uniform distribution of hands, of labor, as it was in Soviet times."

In addition, outside large cities, there is an opportunity to build not only apartments but also houses with adjacent plots of land where something can be grown. "We need to toil in the earth and do something with our own hands. We have forgotten about this, and started building housing for large families in Minsk and regional centers," noted Alexander Lukashenko.

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