Lukashenko: political capital in Africa needs to be monetized into mutually beneficial projects
Political capital in Africa needs to be monetized into mutually beneficial projects. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, on October 30 at a meeting on the development of cooperation with African countries, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
The head of state noted that all African countries account for only 2% of the total export volume of Belarus (for comparison: in the first 8 months of last year, this figure was at the level of 1.9%). And this is despite the fact that the geography of Belarusian presence in the region has expanded. Until 2019, cooperation was mainly with North African countries: Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. Now a significant political capital has already been built up with Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Interest in activating joint work is shown by Uganda, Botswana, Ghana, and Mozambique.
"You know how to monetize political capital into mutually beneficial projects," Alexander Lukashenko stated, addressing the participants of the event. According to him, the corresponding algorithm has been developed in the program for the mechanization of agriculture in Zimbabwe. Currently, successful cooperation is underway with Nigeria under the same scheme. In total, more than 5,000 units of Belarusian agricultural and special equipment have already been delivered there, personnel training is being conducted, and the operation of service centers is being established. There are plans to create assembly production facilities. "We all understand how it should be done, but we are doing it very slowly," the President noted.
"A question to those present: which country will be next and when will we start?" he continued.
The head of state noted, in particular, Algeria's readiness to elevate relations to a qualitatively new level, reinforcing them with serious projects. "Before the visit, we will see what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government will propose," Alexander Lukashenko said. "I expect to discuss specific steps and concrete economic tasks with President Tebboune in the very near future."
By the way, this African country was recently visited by Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhankov. "Did we arrive late in Algeria with our products or not?" asked the Belarusian leader.