Lukashenko announces visit to Equatorial Guinea

19.10.2023

I am planning to visit Equatorial Africa, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Equatorial Guinea's Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Diaspora Simeón Oyono Esono Angüe in Minsk on 19 October, BelTA has learned.

"Fortunately, we have recently been working very closely with your country in terms of development a concrete plan of action for our relations. I will definitely visit your country in the near future. We have already scheduled this. We'll figure out the dates. But the most important thing is that we have a clear idea of how to build up trade and economic relations between our countries," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

As BelTA reported, President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo paid an official visit to Belarus in early September. The program of the visit was very rich and included official negotiations with Aleksandr Lukashenko, signing of bilateral documents, and visits to enterprises to learn more about the Belarusian manufacturing capabilities.

Equatorial Guinea's minister of foreign affairs, international cooperation and diaspora arrived in Belarus at the head of a large delegation. It also includes the ministers of agriculture, livestock and land development, health and social welfare, forests and environment, urban affairs and spatial planning, deputy ministers of trade, industry and business development, culture, tourism and handicrafts development, finance and budget.

On 18-19 October, the governments of Belarus and Equatorial Guinea held the first meeting of the joint permanent commission on trade and economic cooperation in Minsk. The interstate procedure for the entry into force of the framework agreement on cooperation was completed.

As priority areas of cooperation, the parties have outlined agriculture and food security (supply of machines, equipment and food, agricultural technologies, fertilizers, vocational training), information technology, healthcare, education, tourism, construction, development of the service sector, small and medium-sized businesses, creation of production facilities in the field of woodworking.

Belarus views Equatorial Guinea as a gateway to West and Central Africa. The parties are looking into a project to set up a Belarusian production and logistics hub, which will be used, among other things, to ship Belarusian goods to neighboring countries.

Written by belta.by