Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with First Lady of Zimbabwe Auxillia Mnangagwa in Minsk on 11 April, BelTA has learned.
“Dear Mrs Auxillia Mnangagwa, as we agreed with the president, you are in Belarus today on a very important visit. I am fulfilling the request of my friend President Emmerson so that the technologies that are in demand in Zimbabwe are in your country. We are ready to help you implement several projects at the request of your country and your president to build high-tech enterprises. First of all, this concerns humanitarian activities,” the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe, asked for help in establishing a system similar to the Belarusian one in the area of maternity services, help for children, especially newborns, and child nutrition: “In short, women and children are the priority, and Emmerson told me this many times during my visit to your country.”
During the talks the two leaders emphasized the need for a very responsible person from Zimbabwe to oversee the implementation of the relevant programs. “Frankly speaking I told him that this responsible person should be you,” the Belarusian leader said.
He noted that during her visit to Belarus, Auxillia Mnangagwa got familiar with the opportunities available in the country. “The doors were open everywhere. So you are welcome to choose and decide, and we will start to act. Moreover, please tell Emmerson - he asked me to have talks in the Emirates and in Russia on the implementation of joint projects – that there was not a single refusal. These two countries, he talked about, are extremely interested in cooperation with African countries, and especially with Zimbabwe,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president stressed that Belarus has the technologies Zimbabwe needs. The main thing now is the willingness to work on joint projects and the speed of their implementation. “We need to do everything fast,” he said.
As BelTA reported earlier, First Lady of Zimbabwe Auxillia Mnangagwa is on a visit to Belarus following the agreements on cooperation in the humanitarian affairs reached by the two heads of state. Priority attention is given to the issues of motherhood, childhood, healthcare and children's nutrition. During her one-week stay in Belarus, Auxillia Mnangagwa has visited a number of enterprises and organizations of the Healthcare Ministry and the Belarusian infant nutrition company Bellakt in Grodno Region, has held meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Belarusian Women's Union and visited the Khatyn memorial complex.