Belarus' external public debt up 14.2 pct in first half of 2017

MINSK, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Belarus' external public debt increased by 14.2 percent in the first six months in 2017, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

From January to June 2017, Belarus' external public debt rose by 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, totally reaching 15.6 billion U.S. dollars.

In January-June 2017, Belarus attracted external state loans in the amount of 2.4 billion U.S. dollars and spent 508 million U.S. dollars for the debt repayment.

Belarus' annual external public debt reached 13.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 and grew by 9.6 percent over that of the previous year.