Fiscal Deficit in Belarus Overpasses $405 Million

Over the period from January to September 2021, the fiscal deficit in Belarus is about $405 million or 1% of the national GDP, according to Investing.com citing YurySelivestrov, a minister of finance in Belarus. 

Despite the figures, the minister says that next year’s budget is going to be alright.

«There are no worries concerning our budget for the next year. From the very beginning, we have been preparing it while relying on conservative estimates. Early this year we had a fiscal deficit of $1.6 billion, which later reached a much bigger rate of $2.4 billion due to some amplifications and corrections. This is 3% of our budget and we are going to cover all these costs with savings we made before,» he said.

According to the minister, the government won’t allow any default in payments or obligations. Next year the Belarusian government is going to cut off all expenditures it considers inessential and even wants to raise salaries in the public sector, Selivestrov noted.  

Recently, Moody’s rating agency has changed its outlook for a sovereign rating of Belarus from stable to negative at the level B3. The move has followed the soaring risks of the country’s debt servicing because of Western financial sanctions that constrain financing options.