The contribution of remote countries to the development of international trade and economic cooperation of Belarus is rising. Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov made the statement on the air of the TV channel Belarus One, BelTA has learned.

BelTA reported earlier that General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam and Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa have visited Belarus earlier this week. Top-level negotiations took place in the Palace of Independence. A number of international documents on advancing cooperation were signed.

«Actually the contribution of remote countries to the development of the economic potential and to the acquisition of our goods is rising. If we talk about Africa, figures have increased by several times. I don’t want to compare statistics from month to month. We should compare years. If we look at dynamics, we will see that these regions occupy an increasingly large share in our trade, politics, and international relations,» the minister said.

He remarked that Belarus’ other promising partners on the African continent include Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and a number of other countries.

Belarus vigorously advances cooperation with countries of the Persian Gulf, for instance, the UAE and Oman. Cooperation is not limited to trade. The parties maintain investment interaction, which represents the foundation for advancing the relations. «Investments provide for a lengthier process of cooperation than simple trade in goods. We may trade today. We may not trade tomorrow. While investments require continuation over a sufficiently lengthy period of time,» Maxim Ryzhenkov explained.

Image credit: TV channel Belarus One