News & Events in Belarus

KHARTOUM, 16 January (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in Sudan on an official visit. The aircraft with the Belarusian head of state on board landed in the Khartoum International Airport, BelTA has learned.

Sudan President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir welcomed Alexander Lukashenko at the air stairs of the aircraft. An official welcome ceremony involving a guard of honor and the national anthems of the two countries followed. After that Alexander Lukashenko had a brief talk with Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir.

Alexander Lukashenko thanked the Sudan President for the kind words addressed to Belarus and its people. “We have indeed very good political relations. Absolutely no problems whatsoever. Now is the time to advance economic relations,” said the Belarusian head of state.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to hold official negotiations with Sudan President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir in Khartoum on 17 January. The sides are expected to discuss prospects and the main avenues of advancing Belarusian-Sudanese relations. Concrete steps to broaden cooperation will be discussed. Close attention will be paid to matters of economic cooperation. There are plans to sign agreements on advancing cooperation in various areas.

The Belarusian head of state is also expected to meet with Sudan Vice President Hassabu Mohamed Abdalrahman and Speaker of the National Assembly of Sudan Ibrahim Ahmed Omer.

A Belarusian-Sudanese business forum will be held in the capital city of Sudan as part of Alexander Lukashenko’s visit.

On the eve of the visit Sudanese Minister of Petroleum and Oil, co-chairman of the Belarusian-Sudanese cooperation commission Muhammad Zayid Awad told media that there are many spheres and avenues for promoting mutually beneficial cooperation between Belarus and Sudan. “Despite the recent slowdown of cooperation we’ve managed to give an additional boost to these relations in the last two years. The current visit [of the Belarus president] to Sudan is the result of it,” said the Sudanese Minister of Petroleum and Oil.

In his words, promising cooperation avenues include economy, agriculture, healthcare, and some other areas. Prospects of interaction in technology transfer, research, and oil industry are under consideration.

“The production sphere is a promising cooperation area. We have projects we intend to present before the official delegation and the business circles,” stated the Sudanese Minister of Petroleum and Oil.

The Sudanese side is also interested in modern technologies for geological surveying and drilling. Cooperation in information technologies looks promising.

Muhammad Zayid Awad said: “I have very good impressions of my visit to Belarus. I was very impressed when I visited industrial enterprises. We can benefit from working together. Belarus is a very good country, people are friendly. I talked to many Belarusians and I think we are similar in many things.”

His opinion is shared by the prominent Sudanese businessman, Honorary Consul of Belarus in Sudan Mohamed Ismail. “It is a historical visit. We expect a lot of good things for the development of Belarus-Sudan cooperation. There is a great potential for developing business ties in mechanical engineering, agriculture, and food industry,” the businessman told BelTA.

“There is a lot of information about Belarus these days. As a businessman I keep in touch with many partners in Europe and China. But in Belarus I can find very affordable prices and high-quality merchandise. This is why I take care of selling Belarusian products in Sudan. The visit of the Belarus president will give a nudge to the advancement of business ties between our countries,” stated the Honorary Consul.

Sudan is a promising market for Belarusian exports. The bilateral trade is dominated by Belarus’ export. The bilateral trade grew from $15.4 million in 2010 to $41.3 million in 2015. The record was set at $70.8 million in 2013.

In 2015 Belarus’ merchandise export to Sudan soared by 46% in comparison with 2014. Belarus exports to Sudan such products as tractors, trucks, various kinds of machine tools, power transformers, measuring instruments, tires.

There are plans to sign an agreement on friendly relations and cooperation between Belarus and Sudan as well as a number of other agreements.