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 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on October 30 at a meeting on the development of cooperation with African countries, according to a BELTA correspondent.
The head of state noted that all African countries currently account for only 2% of Belarus's total exports (for comparison, for 8 months of last year, this figure was 1.9%). 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. And now significant political capital has been built up with Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Uganda, Botswana, Ghana, and Mozambique are showing interest in intensifying joint work.
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"You know how to monetize political capital into mutually beneficial projects," Alexander Lukashenko stated, addressing the event participants. According to him, a corresponding algorithm has been worked out within the framework of the Zimbabwe agricultural mechanization program. Currently, successful cooperation with Nigeria is underway according to the same scheme. In total, over 5,000 units of Belarusian agricultural and special machinery have already been supplied there, personnel training is being conducted, and service centers are being set up. There are plans to establish assembly plants. "We all understand what needs to 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 bring relations to a qualitatively new level, backing them up with serious projects. "On the eve of the visit, we will see what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government will offer," said Alexander Lukashenko. "I expect to discuss substantive steps and specific economic tasks with President Tebboune in the very near future." By the way, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maksim Ryzhenkov, recently visited this African country. "Are we late with our products to Algeria or not?" asked the Belarusian leader.