Belarus may open agricultural machinery assembly plants in Nigeria
MINSK. Oct 30 (Interfax) - Belarus has supplied over 5,000 units of agricultural and specialized equipment to Nigeria as part of expanding cooperation with the country, and plans are being developed to establish assembly plants, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said during a meeting on African issues in Minsk.
The BelTA state news agency reported Lukashenko's remarks.
Service centers for Belarusian equipment are being established in Nigeria, and personnel training is underway.
Lukashenko said that political capital in Africa should generally be monetized through mutually beneficial projects. A similar approach has been developed using the agricultural mechanization program in Zimbabwe. Successful cooperation with Nigeria is currently underway using the same model.
"We all understand what needs to be done, but we are doing it very slowly," Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko said that African countries currently account for only 2% of Belarus' total exports despite Belarus' geographic presence in the region having expanded. Cooperation was primarily with the North African countries of Egypt, Libya, and Sudan until 2019. Significant political capital has currently been built with Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Uganda, Botswana, Ghana, and Mozambique have expressed interest in intensifying joint efforts.
At the meeting, Lukashenko set a number of objectives for the Belarusian government and noted the particular importance of the African region for Belarus.
"For Belarus, Africa is like China 30 years ago, namely a market of the future where we must actively pursue and carve out niches. It is there that we have the potential to diversify exports for key sectors of our economy, such as agriculture, mechanical engineering, fertilizer production, and others," Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko recalled that the government had adopted an action plan for developing cooperation with African countries for 2024-2026. However, the president described it as very easy and laid-back.
