Political capital in Africa needs to be monetised into mutually beneficial projects. This was stated by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on October 30 at a meeting on developing cooperation with African countries, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
The Head of State noted that all African countries currently account for only 2% of Belarus's total exports (for comparison, over 8 months of last year, this figure was 1.9%). This is despite the expanded geography of Belarusian presence in the region. Until 2019, cooperation was mainly with North African countries: Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. Now, significant political capital has been built with Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Uganda, Botswana, Ghana, and Mozambique are showing interest in intensifying joint work.
"You know how to monetise political capital into mutually beneficial projects," Alexander Lukashenko stated, addressing the participants of the event. According to him, a corresponding algorithm has been worked out within the framework of the agricultural mechanisation program in Zimbabwe. Currently, cooperation with Nigeria is proceeding successfully under 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 centres are being set up. There are plans to establish assembly plants. "We all understand how to do it, but we are doing it very slowly," the President pointed out.
"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 by backing them with serious projects. "Ahead of the visit, we will see what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government will propose," said Alexander Lukashenko. "I expect to discuss substantive steps and specific economic tasks with President Tebboune in the very near future."
Incidentally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maksim Ryzhenkov, recently visited this African country. "Have we been late to Algeria with our products or not?" asked the Belarusian leader.