Belarus - Economist Intelligence Unit - The Economist

OVERVIEW: President Alyaksandar Lukashenka will retain control of the political scene. Loose fiscal and monetary policies mean that inflation will remain high. Rising gas import prices and strong import demand will widen the current-account deficit. Real GDP growth will accelerate to around 9% in 2008, helped by a loose policy stance, but is expected to slow to below 5% in 2009.

Source: Belarus: Country outlook