Belarus in March 2026: the most important developments in economy
In March 2026, Belarus's economic news was dominated by a possible deal with the United States. On 20 March, President Alexander Lukashenko said he was prepared to sell a Belarusian mine to the United States for at least $3 billion and that a decision would be made soon. He also said he was working on letting stranded Lithuanian trucks return from Belarus. The Finance Ministry described recent U.S. sanctions relief as a step toward restoring trust.
A second theme was Belarus's search for partners and buyers abroad. Belarus offered to help Uzbekistan build a nuclear power plant, and Uzbekistan planned to build beef production plants in the Gluboksky District. Belarus offered help with infrastructure for the new capital of Equatorial Guinea, planned to expand scientific cooperation with China in biotechnology and microelectronics, and discussed pharmaceutical projects with India. Argentina showed interest in Belarusian farm machinery and Kazakhstan in its dairy expertise, and Belarus planned to attend trade fairs in Africa. India was reported to be in talks with Russia, Belarus and Morocco to increase fertiliser imports, and the EU was reported to be looking at Belarus as a possible source of fertilisers amid the war in the Middle East.
Ties with Russia also continued. A Belarusian terminal in Murmansk was discussed at a meeting with Lukashenko, and Belarus planned machinery centres in all federal districts of Russia. Russian regions including Arkhangelsk, Ryazan, Bashkortostan and Sverdlovsk discussed industrial, agricultural and trade cooperation, and the airline Pobeda resumed flights to Minsk from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Belavia extended its suspension of flights to and from the UAE through 19 April.
At home, Lukashenko directed officials to double the pedigree beef cattle population within five years, signed a law on safe drinking water and criticised multi-stage markups. Belneftekhim said there were no fuel shortages and refineries were running at full capacity, and Belorusneft planned 450 to 500 electric vehicle charging stations in 2026.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.