Belarusian govt will be dismissed if 2023 targets not met - Lukashenko

MINSK. June 22 (Interfax) - The government of Belarus will be dismissed if the country falls short of its economic targets set for 2023, President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"Roman Aleksandrovich [Prime Minister Golovchenko], let's publicly agree on this. So you don't take offense.... Unless you achieve the indicators we have set for this year, all of you (you first and your first deputy) will have to resign," Lukashenko was quoted by the BelTA state news agency as telling the Council of Ministers on Thursday.

"If you do it, thank you, honors, awards. [If] you don't, one has to act to like a man," he said.

Belarus's official socioeconomic development forecast for this year predicts a GDP growth by 3.8% and a trade surplus of $1.6 billion.