From May 21 to 24, Minsk hosted the MILEX 2025 arms and military equipment exhibition. More than 150 companies from Belarus took part, along with participants from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, and India. Organizers said this year’s event drew one and a half times more participants than the last one in 2023. The exhibition was discussed on May 23 on the “Editors’ Club” program, which aired on News.by and Belarus 1. Studio guests agreed that having a homegrown defense industry is a sign of a highly developed country.
“Only developed nations in today’s world have their own military industries,” said Alexander Shpakovsky, a member of the House of Representatives.
Ivan Eismont, chairman of Belteleradiocompany, backed up and expanded on his idea:
“It’s a marker of a civilized... the presence of a defense industry... a civilized, highly developed nation. I keep drawing these comparisons: we have close ties with Russia, strong connections with China, and our own science sector. And out of all this, honestly and transparently, we’ve managed to create our own defense industry — and MILEX expo is the showcase for it.”
According to the International Monetary Fund, Belarus is classified as a developing country. The IMF does not consider having a defense industry a sign of being developed. Instead, the organization looks at factors like income per capita, export diversification, and integration into the global financial system.
Poor countries like North Korea also have defense industries. North Korea makes intercontinental and tactical ballistic missiles, tanks, ships, and submarines. But that doesn’t make it a developed nation. According to UN estimates, North Korea’s per capita GDP in 2023 was $640 — 12 times lower than in Belarus.
Pakistan is a nuclear power. It also produces firearms, drones, ballistic missiles, tanks, and even warships. But its per capita GDP in 2023 was six times lower than that of Belarus’.
Nigeria also manufactures warships, drones, and armored vehicles, but its per capita GDP is five times lower than that of Belarus.
