MINSK, 2 July (BelTA) - Belarus offers Botswana equipment supplies, cooperation in agriculture and healthcare, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich said at a meeting with Botswana’s Minister of International Relations Phenyo Butale in Minsk on 2 July, BelTA learned.
“Your visit is an important event for relations between Belarus and Botswana. We are united by many things as we strive to develop our economies for the benefit of the peoples, to create the most favorable conditions for living, to improve the quality of life. We build relations with each other on the basis of mutual respect and trust. Belarus is a reliable partner and a true friend,” Viktor Karankevich said.
According to him, the Belarusian side is ready to build relations across all areas that are of interest to Botswana. “These include agriculture, manufacturing sector, supplies of farm machines, passenger, road-building and utility vehicles that would be useful and in demand in your country. These also include healthcare, supplies of medicines, medical vehicles and equipment, the development of pharmaceuticals. We also offer training college and university programs in various majors: agriculture, industry, medicine and healthcare. We are ready to supply equipment, vehicles and technologies, share our knowledge, experience and competencies. We are eager to approach our cooperation in a comprehensive way, with the possibility of creating maintenance centers, training of personnel and setting up joint ventures,” Viktor Karankevich noted.
For his part, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations Phenyo Butale thanked the Belarusian side for the hospitality. “We feel special warmth that can only come from sincere friends and partners. Our government is new, it took over last year. Our goal is to ensure the transition from a consumer economy to an industrialized economy. We need industrialization; we need to provide enough jobs for people. We want to start this journey together with friends who can teach us something, share certain knowledge and experience. We always emphasize that we are in a hurry to industrialize the economy and to create new jobs. Our government inherited an economy that depended on the export of one commodity: diamonds. Therefore, we need to diversify in different areas. Of course, one of the most important is the agricultural sector. Belarus has achievements in this sector, including agricultural mechanical engineering. We are keen to promote cooperation with you to become self-sufficient in food and use our resources not only for growing but also for processing agricultural produce,” he said.
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