Opinions & Interviews

Rapid advance of cooperation between Belarus, Equatorial Guinea pointed out

MALABO, 9 December (BelTA) – Belarus and Equatorial Guinea secured an impressive leap in the advancement of cooperation within half a year. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he met with Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusian head of state noted that it was his first visit to Central Africa and he was impressed with what he had seen in this part of the beautiful African continent. “Beautiful forests, rivers, the Atlantic Ocean with rich fish reserves. These are truly heavenly treasures. And I told the president that you live in paradise. But the greatest treasure of any country is its people. It is equally applicable both to Belarus and to Equatorial Guinea. Kind, hardworking people, who genuinely wish to take care of their native land, people, who are open to new knowledge, experience, people, who truly feel their friends and like-minded persons,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The Belarusian leader stated: “Within the last six months we’ve secured an impressive leap. We’ve exchanged visits at the top level, created a joint permanent commission on cooperation, held the commission’s first session, and substantially invigorated business activity.”

He mentioned the ambitious goals the Equatorial Guinea president set out to accomplish in order to increase the prosperity of the nation: “Your government pursues a policy of openness, trying to systematically develop infrastructure, accelerate the country’s industrialization, and provide the economy with well-trained manpower.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked he had been impressed by the words of the Equatorial Guinea president during restricted-attendance talks. He said that the country is lagging behind in providing people with necessities, primarily food because it focused heavily on infrastructure development. “It needs compensating. I told the president that we are ready to help you with that. We already have such experience on your continent. In Zimbabwe. The country couldn’t feed its own people. But today it exports grain as the Zimbabwe president says. We’ve solved this problem together within only two years,” he quoted an example of effective cooperation.

The president also remarked that Equatorial Guinea actively speaks in favor of reinforcing African unity, in favor of reforming the UN Security Council to reflect Africa’s role in the international arena, in favor of advancing political and economic cooperation in Central Africa.

“It is a great honor to have such a friend. Belarus is a reliable partner for Equatorial Guinea. We bolster our friendship not only with words but with deeds. We have no differences of opinion in politics. We have no topics we’d rather not discuss. Mutually beneficial, friendly, and even brotherly relations develop dynamically between our countries,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

He added that a Belarusian embassy will soon start working in Malabo. An embassy of Equatorial Guinea is expected to open in Belarus by the end of 2024.

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