Clik here to view.
Delegates at the maiden Belarus-Africa Forum, in Minsk, Republic of Belarus.
Towards virile and sustainable economic growth capable of boosting international trade, the African continent is in search of new trading partners that could accompany it on the path of sustainable development, and how to rise from poverty and deprivation to wealth and prosperity.
Belarus has been identified as the young sovereign and developed country that could “walk the talk with Africa”, especially in the area of agriculture, where the continent has comparative advantage.
At the maiden forum tagged: “Belarus-Africa: New Frontiers,” organised by the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Belarusian Government in Belarus, which brought together government officials and entrepreneurs in both regions, new vistas were opened to explore more opportunities on trade relations.
In the last one-year when this initiative was incubated, trade talks between the two regions are already in advanced stages in Senegal, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, The Gambia, South Sudan, Republic of Chad, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Republic of Congo.
To expand trade and investment flow between, Afreximbank and Development Bank of Belarus are pooling together $880million facility to finance Belarusian and African businesses under this platform.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed during the two-day forum on the framework for the disbursement of $150 million loan facility, was the first tranche of the facility the two banks pledged to provide under the Belarus-Africa Trade and Investment Fund Facility (BATIFF).
President of Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, who set the tone of discussion at the forum said despite possessing over 60 per cent of the world’s usable arable land, Africa still faces deficits in production of major food crops from grains, meat, and tubers to fruits and vegetables.
While hinging the challenge on lack of technology and expertise, coupled with absence of partnership, he said Africa requires commercial farming based on mechanisation to boost agricultural production, hence the need for partners that can share the continent’s experiences about how to rise from poverty.
While noting that the continent is awash with abundant ground and surface water with seven large rivers running across its surface, he claimed that it is also rich in all imaginable metals and minerals.
“To boost agricultural production, Africa requires commercial farming based on agricultural mechanisation. The capacity to produce tractors and agricultural equipment is very limited. The mining and processing of the abundant solid minerals is constrained by equipment availability. Further, the problem of inadequate mass transit system for the burgeoning population remains stark.
“And we have joined hands with the Development Bank of Belarus to put in place a US$800 million Belarus-Africa Trade and Investment Finance Facility, to provide trade and project financing, as well as, risk cover for African and Belarusian entities. On top of these, Afreximbank has put in place risk bearing facilities that can protect any Belarusian business engaged in business and investment activities in Africa; Afreximbank implements Country Risk and Investment guarantees, as well as, a Guarantee Programme in support of African Government commitments to project promoters. We stand ready to be your risk umbrella as you go into Africa,” Oramah said.
The President said Belarus has proven strong expertise in the production of potash fertilisers, noting that the un-mined phosphate deposits in Africa present a good ground for partnership.
“We extend our hands of business collaboration to Belarusian business people. We invite them to come to Africa to assemble their heavy equipment; we invite them to come and help us develop our mines; we invite them to come and set up shop in our export processing zones. We invite African businesses and governments to consider Belarusian goods and services in their heavy equipment procurements; we invite them to build partnerships that are productive with Belarusian businesses; we invite them to see Belarus as a market for exports of various goods; we invite our brothers to engage in discussions towards building viable supply chains.
“Africa could be the main source of agriculture produce for Belarus. Given that Belarus recently imported from the world: US$870m in edible fruits and nuts; US$360m in Edible Vegetables; US$500m in Rubber and related products; US$450m in fish and related products; US$400 in cotton, coffee and cocoa products; and close to half a billion US dollars of cements, sulphur and stones annually, Africa could become the main supplier of these goods to Belarus,” he stated.
In his presentation, titled: Belarus-Africa-Untapped Opportunities: An African Perspective, Chief Economist, Afreximbank, Dr. Hippolyte Fofack said to achieve the goal, the parties need to strive to ensure that the partnership is not driven by “opportunistic trade and beggar-thy-neighbour policy,” but must respond to a more ambition-strategic relevance.
“In other words, the development impact of such a partnership will be much greater if it supports the implementation of emerging African development strategy and integration of the region into the global economy.
“The commitment to transform Africa’s agriculture and move towards large-scale production and value addition could fundamentally change and sustain the dynamic of trade between Africa and Belarus-shifting it towards imports of capital goods and irrigation equipment,” said he.
Fofack noted that Potassic fertiliser is another industry where a more strategic partnership driven by relevance and development impact could be a game changer for both parties, adding that the need for fertiliser are expected to rise, especially in the light of rate of population growth in Africa.
The Vice-Prime Minister, Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Valentin Rybakov, advised African entrepreneurs to take interest in the country, noting that he foresaw a bright future in the trade relationship.
He said though Belarus could be a small country, but it held great prospects for African businesses. Also, the Vice-Minister for Agriculture and Food in Belarus, Mr. Igor Baylor, said; “Africa should open its doors as Belarus is ready. This forum is not organised to promote only Belarusian interests, we are also looking at ways we can import goods from Africa, particularly agricultural products. Even semi-processed agricultural products can be imported from Africa. We are not imposing Belarusian products on Africa, but mutually beneficial relationships.
The South African Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Mrs. Sibanda-Thusi Nomatosho, advised African businesses to seek new opportunities in Belarus to improve their development, adding that countries in the continent had been missing on global trade opportunities because they were not consulting relevant agencies.
She noted that African countries could export artifacts and agricultural products to Belarus and in turn get expertise from Belarus to process agricultural products for export. The ambassador said Afreximbank would fast-track the process of getting business information to businesses than ambassadors, as the bank was not an appendage of government.