Opinions & Interviews

Africa viewed as one of key elements of Belarus’ multipronged foreign policy

MINSK, 31 May (BelTA) – Belarus views Africa as one of the important elements of its multipronged foreign policy, Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolai Borisevich said at the opening ceremony of the second Belarusian-African Economic Forum on 31 May, BelTA has learned.

“Africa is an important market where such global players as China, the USA, Russia, India, and the EU are actively working and competing. We also consider the African continent as one of the important elements of our multipronged foreign policy,” the deputy minister said.

“There is no political antagonism between our countries. We have a similar stance on the international agenda. This creates a favorable background for promoting trade and economic relations, which is a priority area of ​​cooperation. We are not starting from scratch, we have a long history of  friendship,” the diplomat said. He deems it fundamentally important that these relations were built on the principles of mutual respect, equality and equal consideration of the interests of each of the parties.

The deputy minister noted that many projects have been successfully implemented or are underway. “At the current stage, it is important to focus not only on expanding mutual trade, but also on finding new opportunities, diversifying and using new instruments. We have already identified several key areas of cooperation - manufacturing, agriculture, education,” Nikolai Borisevich emphasized. According to him, effective mechanisms of financial support for exports have been developed.

The presentations during the forum will outline new perspectives and forms of cooperation in technology transfer, as well as cooperation opportunities in high technologies.

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