Expert on Belarus’ strategy in Africa: We not only sell goods but also offer friendship

MINSK, 8 April (BelTA) — In building relations with African countries, Belarus not only sells them goods but also offers friendship and joint development, Aleksei Avdonin, an analyst with the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR), said in a new episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.

“Africa is perceived by all think tanks as a future point of global growth. Economic growth rates on this continent are projected to range from 9% to 13%. The fact is that this is an undeveloped region, and capital needs a place to be applied,” Aleksei Avdonin explained. “This includes the construction of roads, infrastructure, and production facilities. When a new enterprise appears, it requires labor, which leads to higher wages and the involvement of the entire African continent in modern economic relations.”

The expert noted that Belarus is not staying on the sidelines of the economic processes taking place in Africa and is taking an active part in them. “If there is huge demand there for engineering products, agriculture, medicine, pharmaceuticals, science and technology, we must meet that demand. This will give us the opportunity to create new industries and improve the well-being of our citizens,” he stressed.

Aleksei Avdonin added that the ideology of cooperation that Belarus offers is also attractive to African countries. “We not only provide goods but also offer friendship and joint development. We do not profit at someone else’s expense by selling our products – we develop together. And this ideology is extremely in demand in Africa right now. They are tired of colonies and enslavement by Western corporations, which have always sought to extract as much added value and resources as possible,” he said.

At the same time, Aleksei Avdonin believes that Belarus cannot be present across the entire region and must identify specific points where to apply its interests. “We are not a global empire, we have limited resources, and therefore we need to carefully calculate the effectiveness of investing money. The countries of Central Africa, for example, were under colonial rule of Western European countries for a long time, and they are not ready to build relations with them. They need greater mechanization of agriculture, improved food security, and better healthcare. We are ready to provide all of this,” the expert said.