OREANDA-NEWS. One of the key priorities for Belarus at the moment is to restore the balance of payments, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) said in the new edition of its CIS Macromonitor.

EDB experts point out Belarus’ current account deficit, which may reach 5% in 2013, according to a forecast released by the Economy Ministry of Belarus.

The fact that Belarus has been having limited international reserves (at USD 8 billion – 1.8-2 months worth of imports) since the spring of 2012 is a threat to economic stability in the country, EDB experts said.

EDB analysts suggest Belarus should also synchronize its inflation growth with the neighbouring states by means of pursuing a more tough monetary management policy.

The EDB study refers to forecasts by the EurAsEC Financial Bailout Fund, the World Bank and the IMF, which say that Belarus’ GDP will grow by 2-4% per annum in the next few years to come.

The EDB says Belarus’ development scenario is not quite pessimistic provided the government avoids premature attempts to accelerate GDP growth for fear of provoking a second wave of the financial crisis of 2011.