Belarus is strengthening its economic presence in Africa. The head of state held a meeting today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe.
Frederick Shawa arrived in Belarus the day before. His visit is very rich and productive. In fact, it is a continuation of the contacts and agreements reached at the highest level during the state visit of our President to Zimbabwe. As the head of the Foreign Ministry of this country pointed out in one of his statements, the African country has achieved a lot in terms of food security thanks to Belarus. We help to provide it by mechanizing farms. Deliveries of machinery worth over $66 million are scheduled for the next year and a half. There are many promising and fundamentally new projects ahead including in the humanitarian sphere and healthcare. Mutual agreements will be implemented more intensively now - the Zimbabwean ambassador to Belarus will be appointed in the next few months. The countries seek to bring bilateral relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.
"I would like to reaffirm Belarus' readiness for close cooperation with your country. We have outlined a special plan of our work with Zimbabwe and we are ready to adhere to the implementation of these plans and tasks. At the same time, some new areas of our cooperation have emerged, first of all in the humanitarian sphere. To say nothing of education. Mr. Mnangagwa and I have agreed to pay great attention to cooperation in the spheres of motherhood, childhood, healthcare, and child nutrition. And I hope that the First Lady, who has been entrusted by Zimbabwe to deal with this issue, will be here soon. You should know that we will do our best to help and support our friends here in Zimbabwe. You can count on us in this regard," said the President of Belarus.
The recent state visit of our President to Zimbabwe was effective in economic terms. Alexander Lukashenko has always emphasized the prospects of working in Africa. Definitely, Africa has a future. Belarus came there with sincere intentions to be friends and work. During the talks, the leader of this country emphasized that he believes in practical results of cooperation and is grateful to the Belarusian leader for his support. And Zimbabwe needs it not only politically, but also practically. And Belarus is ready to lend a hand at any moment and in absolutely all areas, where the colleagues have an interest.
A new level of partnership between Belarus and Zimbabwe
The recent state visit of the Belarusian President to Zimbabwe was very effective in economic terms. The two countries have signed a voluminous package of documents. These include agreements on the promotion and mutual protection of investments and on the creation of a joint standing commission for cooperation. Zimbabwe may become a hub for Belarus' trade with the EU.
