Photo taken on May 12, 2017 shows a finished office building in the Belarus-China industrial park Great Stone near Minsk, capital of Belarus. (Xinhua/Wei Zhongjie)

MINSK, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank forecasts Belarus' economy growth at 2.1 percent in 2018, World Bank experts told local media on Wednesday.

This was announced on Wednesday during the presentation of the World Bank Economic Update on Belarus.

World Bank experts said the recovery of the Russian economy contributes to the restoration of economic growth in Belarus in 2017, thanks to which the Belarus' exports begin to grow.

The experts said preserving the status quo in the Belarusian economy will not ensure its steady growth and increase in incomes of the population. Long-term growth is possible after the removal of structural shortcomings, the World Bank added.

In order to improve welfare, Belarus should continue the policy aimed at improving the environment for private enterprise, analysts said.

The World Bank strongly recommends paying attention to inefficient state enterprises in terms of competitiveness, corporate governance, procurement and provision of credit resources.

The analysts of the bank stressed that the priority for Belarus is to improve economic productivity.