Lukashenko's visit to Zimbabwe caused a stir among other South African leaders
Many leaders of Southern Africa contacted the President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, after his talks with Aleksandr Lukashenko – as noted by Natalya Eismont, the press secretary of the Belarusian Head of State, with reference to the Zimbabwean leader, BelTA reports
"I will tell you a piece of inside information – that journalists like the most. On the third day of the visit, the President of Zimbabwe told our leader that, the day before, literally at the end of the main negotiating day, a dozen of leaders of South African countries phoned him. Clearly, they are in very close contact with each other. The heads of state had one question: how it was possible to make Lukashenko arrive and organise such a fundamental and eventful visit. Of course, they all expressed a desire for the Head of State, for our country to co-operate closely with them as well,” Ms. Eismont said.
The press secretary stressed that Belarus has something to propose to these countries, “There is also something that we are interested in in the south of Africa. I can mention a real example: when talking to journalists at a press conference, our President spoke about Mozambique. This is the country where Belarus is already entering, including through Zimbabwe. This is something that is already in the process. Food security issues are also very important there, and we can participate [in their solution]. This is a rather specific conversation. Actually, we focus on co-operation with the entire southern region of Africa – as a whole.”
"I emphasise once again, and this is a very important point: the future belongs to Africa. I believe we will all be convinced of the global nature of this forecast very soon," Ms. Eismont concluded.
