Opinions & Interviews
Lukashevich: Cooperation with Africa becomes mainstream for Belarus’ enterprises
Sergei Lukashevich. An archive photo
MINSK, 4 June (BelTA) - Cooperation with African countries is becoming mainstream for Belarusian enterprises, Belarus’ First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lukashevich said on air of the First News TV channel, BelTA has learned.
The first deputy foreign affairs minister noted that it was the president of Belarus who gave the impetus that now drives both the government and enterprises to actively work on the African continent. “This direction is becoming mainstream for our enterprises. Africa is the largest continent, with one and a half billion people and a growing economy. The [Belarusian] president said that Africa today is what China was many years ago. It is precisely in Africa that the undervalued opportunities for diversifying Belarusian exports are located: opportunities for our agricultural enterprises, machinery manufacturers, and so on,” Sergei Lukashevich emphasized.
He pointed out that Africa consists of more than fifty countries, and it would be difficult to develop cooperation with all of them at the same pace simultaneously. Therefore, following the president’s instructions, the government adopted a special five-year cooperation program between Belarus and African countries. “We identified priority cooperation points where targeted projects can be implemented. This is a foundation on which relations are built. A systematic, solid approach,” Sergei Lukashevich said.
According to him, the next stage in developing cooperation is already underway: roadmaps for bilateral cooperation with individual countries are being drafted, and targeted project selection is carried out based on the specifics and needs of each country.
“The process has already begun. What remains is to implement it, fill our documents with concrete actions, and achieve results,” Sergei Lukashevich said. “What we can offer Africa is already quite clear. We come with technologies and products that contribute to improving well-being and GDP growth. In addition, the educational component is always included.”
He recalled that Belarus already has a strong example of cooperation on the African continent: with Zimbabwe: “Some time ago, we launched excellent projects there to mechanize agriculture with the help of Belarusian machinery, land-cultivation technologies, Belarusian specialists who trained local workers to use our equipment, as well as service centers. We entered this country thoroughly with our machinery.”
As a result, Zimbabwe went from being a wheat importer to becoming an exporter in just two years. “This fact alone speaks volumes. Recently, we hosted a delegation from Mozambique, and this argument made a very strong impression on our partners. It is a real example and a real result of our cooperation,” Sergei Lukashevich stressed.
As it was reported earlier, this year Belarusian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov visited several African countries, including Ghana, Togo, and Tanzania.
“The minister does not travel just to meet colleagues. He acts as a locomotive: the first test step in deepening bilateral relations. Following the minister’s visit, we are now expecting the president of Ghana to visit our country. A large package of documents is being prepared for signing, along with projects similar to those in Zimbabwe [referring to Belarus-Zimbabwe cooperation],” Sergei Lukashevich said. “Tractors, harvesters, and soil-tilling attachments for our machinery are the foundation of our cooperation with both Ghana and Togo.”
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