Harare (New Ziana)–Belarus plans to expand its cooperation with African countries since the continent holds the key to future global economic development, President Aleksandr Lukashenko said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at a function where Belarusian and Zimbabwean officials signed eight agreements on cooperation in various areas.
“While some people say that Africa is waking up, I differ with that. To me Africa has already woken up,” he said.
President Lukashenko said Africa held the key to future global development because it had the necessary human and natural resources.
He said in coming to Africa, Belarus was not seeking to colonise the continent but was bringing peace and development.
“We are not utilising the colonial style. We are not here to do that,” he said.
“We are here to train specialists, to help you to achieve further development of your country.”
Africa stood to benefit from trading with Belarus because the prices of its goods were cheap and they were of a high quality, President Lukashenko said.
“So we are planning to expand our ties with Africa because the planet cannot develop without Africa and the future belongs to Africa,” he said.
Having secured cooperation with Zimbabwe, President Lukashenko said Belarus was now seeking to attract other countries in the Southern African region into its various areas of co-operation, including Mozambique.
He said Mozambique was an agricultural country which had a very vast ocean line which was useful for shipping goods from his country.
President Lukashenko revealed that he had agreed with President Emmerson Mnangagwa the previous day to invite Mozambican President Philippe Nyusi to participate in the negotiations for the cooperation agreements.
“This was after the Zimbabwean President told me that the Mozambican President is a very good friend of his and so we plan to establish that cooperation,” he said.
He dismissed suggestions that the forays that his country was making into Zimbabwe and Africa were aimed at finding an open market for the Potash fertiliser that it produced which had been placed under sanctions by the United States.
President Lukashenko also dismissed allegations that the excursions into Africa were intended to assist Russia to overcome the effects of the sanctions that Western countries imposed on it for invading Ukraine.
“Russia does not need any assistance from anyone but as a friendly country, Belarus will always stand ready to assist Russia,” he said.
He said Belarus had been able to sell the amounts of Potash fertiliser that it wanted to sell, and it could also supply Zimbabwe with the amounts that it wanted.
“The United States is not the only country in the world. There are more than 200 states which are ready to cooperate with Belarus,” he said.
President Lukashenko arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday for a three-day state visit and Tuesday he toured the National Heroes Acre after which he went to State House to witness the signing of eight cooperation agreements.
After the signing ceremony, the two Presidents proceeded to the Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Hatcliffe, about 12 kilometres northeast of the capital to launch the second phase of the agricultural mechanisation programme where Zimbabwe took delivery of an additional 1 370 tractors, 14 combine harvesters and disc harrows.
On Wednesday the two Presidents travelled to the resort town of Victoria Falls from where President Lukashenko bade well to his host and departed for his country.
Zimbabwe and Belarus are both under sanctions which Western countries and the United States imposed in order to weaken their economies and cause suffering among the citizens so that they revolt against the governments.
New Ziana
