The development of the Pripyat Polesie regions and the implementation of the relevant program were the topics of a meeting chaired by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA correspondent reports.

"The agenda of our meeting has been set for a long time - the issue of Polesie development until 2030," said the head of state. - "I want to remind you that this program is one of the key election promises of the President to the Polesie residents. The elections were held a long time ago. This does not mean that we have done nothing there. A lot has been done."

The President noted that this year the results of work in Polesie are noticeable. "But these are just small first steps. There is a sea of work ahead," warned the Belarusian leader.

The head of state said that he had recently inspected all the Polesie regions and has a complete understanding of how the Polesie residents manage the land.

The program until 2030 covers nine districts where 350,000 people live.

"Regarding the program, we must know and understand what measures need to be taken within and outside the program so that the Polesie residents, and indeed all of Belarus, notice that we are seriously engaged in Polesie. On the one hand. On the other hand, we must always remember whether we have the money to implement these measures," noted the Belarusian leader.

In this regard, he asked to move away from "excessive Sovietism" in the reports, so that in the end it does not turn out that money was allocated for some ideas and plans, but no results were noticed. "This is precisely why specific measures and enterprises are needed that will contribute to the creation of new jobs (although this is not the most important thing today), the development of Polesie for centuries, forever," emphasized Alexander Lukashenko.

"Everything must be precisely calculated, verified, and most importantly, bring economic returns in the long run. Especially when it comes to budget funds. There is no spare money in the country," the President said. "The program's activities must be concrete, fit into a simple algorithm: we must see the goal, set specific tasks, and act for results. I warned you about this. As I am informed, you have generally optimized them. However, they are still not fully funded. And the financial gap is considerable."

The Head of State drew attention to the fact that about Br400 million, or 6% of the total funds allocated for the program (about Br6.5 billion), are missing. In this regard, the President asked for a concrete answer to the main question: from which financial sources are these activities planned to be implemented and what kind of activities will they be.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that the work on the program's implementation will be overseen by a true Polissian, Mikhail Rusy, the authorized representative of the Head of State in the Brest region and the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Legislation and State Building of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

The President touched upon a number of specific aspects in the development of Polesia. One of them is environmental challenges that require comprehensive, systemic solutions and, possibly, large investment projects. Today, Brest and Gomel regions are a vivid example of what is happening with the climate. In this regard, it has become common to refer to constant droughts, shallowing of rivers and melioration canals, which was not observed at all three or four decades ago. "This is precisely that 'Sovietness' – we are all still stuck in the old ways: 'It's shallow, that's bad, this is bad…'," the Head of State remarked.

Alexander Lukashenko drew attention to the opportunities and available water resources, the main one being the Pripyat River: "Where do these waters go? It would be one thing if Ukraine fully utilized the Dnieper waters... These waters go into the sea. So why are we not thinking today about how to 'turn this water back' when needed, and where it is needed?".

In this regard, the Head of State mentioned that the leadership of the Gomel region had proposed to him to return to the topic of the Dnieper-Bug canals. Alexander Lukashenko instructed the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Ivan Krupko, to submit a proposal. "When he submitted the proposal to me, my eyes went dark. Because we simply do not have such enormous funds," the President said.

Nevertheless, Alexander Lukashenko noted that this idea needs to be further discussed with knowledgeable and understanding people who are passionate about this topic: "If we need to go this way and it will pay off and bring results to the Gomel region - we will cross ourselves and start doing it. Therefore, everything must be thought through. It's not like hearing a good idea somewhere and saying: 'Let's get the money!'. We need to understand. Do we have the money or not, will we have it or not, will it yield results or not. If it does - we will look for the money".

"We have not lost this foundation - the Dnieper-Bug canal system. And today, when moisture is needed in the fields, it can be very useful. But we must not act blindly. This issue needs to be worked out very seriously. Think about the cost of the issue," the Head of State added.

Alexander Lukashenko also recalled the tasks for land reclamation, which in the current conditions should be focused not only on drainage but also, among other things, on watering the territories: "We often have drought in Gomel (we know the soils of Gomel), and we would need water. But we need to think about this today. Not drainage, but land reclamation – watering should be done. By the way, we built these land reclamation systems that way. We just need to restore them and work. This is the direction of our actions. We must proceed from the land."

The President is orienting the strategy and tactics for the development of the districts included in the program for the development of the Pripyat Polesia regions, taking into account all these factors, without forgetting at the same time about the improvement of the territories adjacent to the Pripyat, the preservation of the river's ecology and its unique nature.

"The nature is unique, peculiar. There is no such nature anywhere in the world. And the soils are very peculiar. And I would not say, if we take it as a whole, that they are rich. Sandy soils mostly. But if you use your mind, you can get corresponding harvests from them too," the head of state is confident.

The President also drew attention to the region's untapped tourism potential, from national parks to agro-tourism estates. "And this is good money," Alexander Lukashenko noted. "We need to do this ourselves. Build something somewhere. After all, for tourists today, these palace interiors are not important. They want something made of wood, to come and relax with their children. And we know how to do this. We have everything for this. And we need to do this not just quickly, but instantly. Because this gold mine is slipping away. Therefore, we need to act instantly to recoup an inexpensive project and earn money from it."

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