AI regulation in Belarus: laws & policy (2026)

The documentation package for a dedicated AI technologies bill was submitted to the National Center of Legal Information for inclusion in the 2026 legislative agenda; the National Center (in cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences and the Operational-Analytical Center under the President) is designated lead developer. This is Belarus's first formal step toward a standalone AI statute.

The Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization announced at a national scientific-practical conference that Belarus will develop the country's first dedicated national standards in AI, covering management systems and AI terminology. Standards are expected to be approved by end-2025 with UNDP expert support.

At the two-day 'AI4Development: Solutions for Belarus' international forum in Minsk (250+ participants from government, business, and academia), UNDP Belarus and the Ministry of Communications and Informatization adopted a Joint Statement calling for a balanced legal framework, human-capital investment, and equitable AI access. The forum produced formal policy recommendations for a national AI ecosystem.

The National Institute of Education (under the Ministry of Education) issued official methodological recommendations for incorporating AI tools into school curricula and pedagogical practice. This is the first sector-specific AI guidance issued by a Belarusian ministry, signalling state-managed AI deployment in the public sector.

UNDP Belarus's Accelerator Lab, the State Committee for Standardization, and leading academic institutions held an 'AI Standardization' roundtable at Belarus's premier Digital Expo (TIBO), benchmarking ISO, Chinese, Russian, and EAEU standards to identify approaches adaptable to Belarusian realities. The event marked the formal launch of work toward the country's first national AI standards.

President Lukashenko signed Decree No. 135 approving national priority avenues of scientific, technical, and innovative activity for 2026-2030, with 'digital technologies and artificial intelligence' listed as the lead priority category. All state scientific programmes and the 2026-2030 State Innovation Development Programme must align with these priorities, formally channelling public R&D funding toward AI.

The Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS member states adopted a Model Law on Artificial Intelligence Technologies, developed by the United Institute of Informatics Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (which had won an open CIS competition). The model law establishes unified definitions, governance principles, and investment-promotion provisions intended to serve as a template for national AI legislation across the post-Soviet space.

UNDP, the Ministry of Communications and Informatization, and Giprosvyaz presented a national Digital Readiness Assessment covering connectivity, governance, regulation, economy, and digital public infrastructure. Belarus became the first country worldwide to embed a dedicated AI-readiness evaluation into its DRA, establishing the evidence baseline for subsequent AI policy, standards, and regulatory work.

The Council on Legal and Judicial Policy under the President (chaired by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court) formally recognised the need to develop a law on AI technologies and recommended the National Center of Legal Information as lead developer, in cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences and the Operational-Analytical Center. This advisory resolution triggered the legislative process expected to produce a bill in 2026.

The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly announced an open competition to produce a model law on AI technologies for the entire post-Soviet region. The United Institute of Informatics Problems at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus won the competition, giving Belarus a dominant role in shaping regional AI governance norms that would later directly inform its own planned national statute.

Council of Ministers Resolution No. 66 approved the national five-year Digital Development Programme, embedding AI-enabled infrastructure modernisation, digital innovation across economic sectors, and smart-city technologies as explicit goals. The programme became the primary public-sector vehicle for AI adoption in government and established the institutional context for subsequent AI-specific regulation.

President Lukashenko signed Decree No. 8 expanding the Hi-Tech Park (HTP) regime to explicitly authorise AI development, machine-learning systems based on artificial neural networks, autonomous vehicles, and blockchain as licensed HTP activities, with the preferential legal and tax regime extended to 2049. This decree, the world's first to legalise smart contracts, was the foundational act that placed AI at the centre of Belarus's digital economy and remains the primary legal vehicle for the country's AI industry.