The current five-year plan prioritizes innovative and regional development, Deputy Economy Minister Anzhelika Nikitina said as she visited Francisk Skorina Gomel State University and the Belarusian State University of Transport, BelTA learned from the press service of the Economy Ministry.

The Economy Ministry continues a series of lectures at Belarus' higher learning institutions timed to the upcoming 100th anniversary of the economic bodies of Belarus. Anzhelika Nikitina visited the universities and told teachers, staff and students about the history of the country's economic bodies, their contribution to the national economy, as well as the future objectives.

In an interview with reporters, the deputy minister explained: “In the current five-year plan, we are focusing, firstly, on innovative development, the promotion of innovative industries - electrical engineering, robotics, pharmaceutics, IT technologies. We must become a high-tech innovative country, especially in the manufacturing industry. The second area of focus is regional development. At the latest Belarusian People's Congress, the head of state named the localities that will receive a bigger focus – these are oblast capitals, towns with a population of 80,000 people or more, Minsk satellite towns, communities with a high unemployment rate. We should deal with the regional development issues on a case-by-case basis, including the districts of Gomel Oblast.