MINSK, 6 June (BelTA) – On 5 June Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov
hosted delegations from three African countries - Botswana, Ghana and Mozambique - headed by the agriculture ministers. BelTA has learned what agreements were reached, what documents were signed and how they will impact the bilateral relations.
Big delegations from several African countries came to Minsk to take part in the 35th international exhibition Belagro 2025. Agriculture is an economic mainstay in most countries of this continent, thus Belarus' expertise and knowledge and advanced technologies in the agricultural industry are of great interest to them. These countries are ready to build cooperation in other sectors as well, so the time spent in Belarus was packed with events. One of the most important of them was a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Maksim Ryzhenkov.
Maksim Ryzhenkov's first meeting was with a delegation of Botswana led by Minister of Lands and Agriculture Edwin Gorataone Dikoloti. Maksim Ryzhenkov thanked him for the visit and for participation in the agricultural exhibition Belagro. The Belarusian foreign minister remarked that one of the reasons for the visit was meeting with Belarusian officials in order to map out plans to promote bilateral cooperation.
“This is an excellent start that will give impetus to our interaction,” the minister emphasized. He named agriculture as a priority area of cooperation. Indeed, agriculture is a key economic sector for many African countries. In this sense, the Belagro exhibition offers an excellent opportunity to study Belarus' huge potential in the agricultural industry.
According to the minister, time is ripe to translate plans into actions in order to give more substance to cooperation. In this regard, he mentioned that he invited the foreign minister of Botswana to visit Minsk in the near future and expressed hope that upon returning home, Edwin Gorataone Dikoloti would spread the word about cooperation opportunities with Belarus.
According to Edwin Gorataone Dikoloti, his country is interested in developing contacts with Belarus. They view Belarus as a partner state that is committed to building cooperation on a mutually beneficial and respectful basis. He pointed to the high level of agricultural mechanization in Belarus and confirmed interest in cooperation in this area. In addition, he suggested intensifying humanitarian cooperation with a focus on higher education and vocational training of young people from Botswana in Belarus.