22 July 2024, 15:44

Lukashenko urges to seize unique opportunity to gain foothold in distant markets

MINSK, 22 July (BelTA) – Today is a unique opportunity to gain foothold in distant markets, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting to discuss the development of the Belarusian manufacturing industry, BelTA has learned.

Speaking about the Belarusian export, Aleksandr Lukashenko briefly outlined cooperation with the main partners and dwelt on the work with the geographically distant countries in Asia, Africa, South and Latin America.

"We agreed not to put all eggs in one basket. The more baskets, the better. Hence the focus on geographically distant countries," he recalled.

Anchor points in Africa

The head of state stressed that today no one disputes that the future belongs to Africa. Belarus has several anchor points on this continent: Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the south. These countries have a favorable geographical position.

“Mozambique needs us more than Zimbabwe. I know that for sure. The president of Zimbabwe (who has good relations with the leadership of Mozambique) has promised me to help us make entry in Mozambique we can cooperate with Zimbabwe directly from Mozambique and their ports. They know us, they appreciate us and are ready to work with us," the president said.

Belarus also has partners on the west coast of Africa, for example, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. Not so long ago, by the way, Aleksandr Lukashenko held a meeting with the First Lady of Nigeria. This country is very interested in developing relations with Belarus. “She told me that they were very interested in promoting cooperation with Belarus . ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘There are a lot of countries.’ “We know what colonialism is. We want to cooperate with equals. You have shown yourselves well in Africa, starting with Egypt, back in the day.” She listed the things they want from Belarus. The population of the country is 220 million,” the head of state noted. “Equatorial Guinea welcomes us. They say: ‘Come, here's what you need. Take it, work any way you want.”

“Kenya is the east of Africa. I have a great relationship with the president. They say, ‘they are pro-American over there'..... They want their country to develop. They also say: ‘Come, we want this and that.’ It's a huge country, they need everything. Take the north: we have traditionally excellent relations with Egypt, Algeria. What else do we need in Africa?” the head of state said when speaking about the partners in the eastern and northern parts of Africa.

Prospects in the Middle East and Asia

Belarus is also well known in the Middle East. “We are known in Israel, we have excellent relations with Syria (the war will end someday) and with other countries,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.

“We recently met with the leadership of Pakistan within the framework of the SCO. We are welcome on their market. We have good relations with people who have come to power there. They asked me to come there. It is a huge country, over 200 million. A nuclear power. They need to feed their people. As the First Lady of Nigeria told me: ‘My husband and I want to be remembered as people who fed the hungry.” This is exactly what we specialize in. It implies the use of our manufacturing capacities and also our developmental experience in agriculture. We are now trying to resume our relations with India: everything is going well,” the president noted

Gaining foothold in Latin America

Trade and economic ties with Latin American countries have also been resumed. Recently, a government delegation from Belarus visited Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

“It's good that you have realized this plan: Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. They want to develop. You have seen that there is a lot of work to be done there,” the president noted. “The attitude to us there is not bad. These are the richest countries. The United States of America cannot do without them. That's why they are starting to build relations with Venezuela. It's good for us,” the Belarusian leader said.

“We need to step up efforts to develop cooperation with Brazil. This is a huge country, politically influential, and they need what we want to sell."

The head of state admitted that cooperation with African and Latin American countries has its issues. However, he said, they are surmountable and solutions can always be found.

“We have interest and opportunities not only in Russia, but also in China, and along that entire perimeter. We have mapped our steps in promoting cooperation with certain distant countries. Others will be joining too. This is not the final list,” the president noted.

In addition to direct sale of industrial products, the president separately touched upon maintenance centers and personnel training. Without this, he stressed, it is impossible to build long-term economic ties. "Training and maintenance centers, then localization and setting up our own production facilities is a unique opportunity to come to distant markets seriously and for a long time. Moreover, they have something to offer Belarus," Aleksandr Lukashenko noted

According to Belarusian Industry Minister Aleksandr Yefimov, in the coming years, the work will be aimed at not only maintaining exports to the Russian Federation, but also increasing exports to distant countries while maintaining a share in Russia. "By 2030, we plan to direct 30% of all exports to the geographically distant countries," the minister said.

Among the key countries in Central and South America, he named Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina, Nicaragua, Colombia, Brazil. In Africa these are Egypt, Nigeria, Togo, Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Zimbabwe; in Asia - Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and China.