MINSK, 22 January (BelTA) – Africa is rethinking the reality and is gradually moving away from Western influence, Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik told the STV television channel, BelTA has learned.
The foreign minister emphasized that Belarus is facing a very serious competition on the African continent. The West has not left the continent yet and has not dropped its plans to keep pumping out resources from Africa and continue economic exploitation of many African countries. Yet, Africa is now somewhat rethinking the situation and is gradually weaning itself off Western influence.
“They are also learning lessons from the pressure that they have experienced and continue to experience on the part of many Western countries,” explained Sergei Aleinik. “This is largely prompting them to reconsider things and change their focus to establish closer contacts with like-minded countries. And in this regard, our role and our ability to build equal, mutually respectful relations and cooperation catering to the needs of African countries are worth a lot,” Belarus’ top diplomat remarked.
The minister emphasized that Belarus is building cooperation not only with those countries where it has embassies. “We are looking for new niches and opportunities, and the series of contacts that we have had here, on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit, suggests that a number of other countries are also interested in cooperation,” he emphasized. “We have had a conversation with the minister of foreign affairs of Mozambique and have reached agreements on very specific areas of interaction, on developing a legal framework for cooperation. I think that the intergovernmental commission will hold a meeting in the near future; delegations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make a series of visits and we will arrange visits at the highest level,” the foreign minister informed.
The foreign minister emphasized that Belarus is facing a very serious competition on the African continent. The West has not left the continent yet and has not dropped its plans to keep pumping out resources from Africa and continue economic exploitation of many African countries. Yet, Africa is now somewhat rethinking the situation and is gradually weaning itself off Western influence.
“They are also learning lessons from the pressure that they have experienced and continue to experience on the part of many Western countries,” explained Sergei Aleinik. “This is largely prompting them to reconsider things and change their focus to establish closer contacts with like-minded countries. And in this regard, our role and our ability to build equal, mutually respectful relations and cooperation catering to the needs of African countries are worth a lot,” Belarus’ top diplomat remarked.
The minister emphasized that Belarus is building cooperation not only with those countries where it has embassies. “We are looking for new niches and opportunities, and the series of contacts that we have had here, on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit, suggests that a number of other countries are also interested in cooperation,” he emphasized. “We have had a conversation with the minister of foreign affairs of Mozambique and have reached agreements on very specific areas of interaction, on developing a legal framework for cooperation. I think that the intergovernmental commission will hold a meeting in the near future; delegations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make a series of visits and we will arrange visits at the highest level,” the foreign minister informed.
