Belarus and Ethiopia plan to sign roadmap. What in focus of cooperation

Participation in infrastructure projects, Days of Belarusian Education and Culture, and launch of direct flights to Ethiopia. A Belarusian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov works in the African continent.

The weather here is comfortable. The African sun is not hot. But the days are hot in terms of the intense program. April 14 is the key day of the Belarusian delegation. The day before, the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry met with his Ethiopian counterpart. Our delegation has a highly responsible mission - Maxim Ryzhenkov delivered a message from the President of Belarus to the President of Ethiopia.

Africa, as we know, is a huge market. And this is the exact place the domestic exporters should build their business. It is expected to establish contacts in all areas that will benefit both sides. This is, perhaps, the main purpose of such trips.

The distance between the Belarusian and Ethiopian capitals is rather vast - over 5 thousand kilometers, but it is certainly not a problem in the modern world. Especially when there is a desire and political will. On the basis of respect for each other and mutual interests, Belarusians are ready to be friends and work together without regard to any distance.

For Belarus, the course towards Africa no longer looks pathless. The Republic is gradually discovering this continent as a promising partner.

Maxim Ryzhenkov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus: "We are ready to work together, as our President always says, to assist our sincere friends with all the technologies to develop not just simple trade. That is why we talked about the building up of an assembly plant for tractors. We decided to look deeper at the transport component: both trucks and combines, but specialized ones - those that will find application here. The equipment is point, mounted, trailed. We talked about what technologies in terms of improving the technique of growing vegetables, fruits and grain we can also present to them. Supply of bio preparations, veterinary drugs. In other words, what is extremely important for them today in terms of ensuring national food security."

The scale of the Ethiopian market is evidenced by the number of the country's inhabitants - over 100 million people. Today, the parties intend to bring bilateral interaction to a qualitatively new level in order to produce tangible results.

The agenda of the Belarusian visit is made under due consideration of the interests of the two countries. The plans include meetings on medicine, innovation, technology, mining, and agriculture. Business negotiations are planned in parallel with political talks. Thus, we are awaiting the outcomes of understandings.