OREANDA-NEWS. October 24, 2011. President Alexander Lukashenko believes the space industry is one of the most promising and important areas for the development of the economy. It is possible to say today that the space industry has become another full-fledged branch of the national economy. This topic was discussed 20 during the President's tour of Peleng, a major Belarusian manufacturer of optical and electronic equipment.

In the future, there is a need to allocate funds for the most promising projects designed to substitute imports and boost exports, said the President. The Head of State touched upon the subject of staffing institutions with highly skilled professionals. In his opinion, the priority should be given to those who can run an enterprise efficiently, making use of modern management practices. "The so called crisis has become some sort of indicator of the ability of CEOs to run their businesses, and we should make due conclusions in this respect," said Alexander Lukashenko.

He deems it necessary to gradually reduce government financing of the R&D companies and manufacturers of military equipment. "We are now going to look closely into why it happened so that the money has been made available but there are no tangible results in terms of import substitution," said the Head of State.

Alexander Lukashenko was shown import substituting equipment designed and manufactured by state-run companies that are part of the State Military Industry Committee and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The President was shown, for example, the 4WD light armored vehicle "Bars" (Russian: snow leopard) and the self-propelled anti-tank missile system "Otselot" (Russian: ocelot). These pieces of equipment feature the latest polymer-based composite armor and the modern composite anti-radar material. Alexander Lukashenko was also shown the portable anti-tank missile system "Shershen" (Russian: hornet), various types of unmanned flying objects and other pieces of equipment.