Emmerson Mnangagwa and Viktar Sheyman, phot. herald.co.zw
Viktar Sheyman, Head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate, has reported the results of his visit to Zimbabwe to Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
In Zimbabwe, he met with the current president Emmerson Mnangagwa who also goes by the nickname Crocodile.
According to the presidential press service, the negotiations were ‘productive’.
“During the talks the sides concluded about $58 million worth of contacts, including on the delivery of Belarusian tractors to the tune of $43 million and forestry equipment to the tune of $15 million. The sides also discussed the assembly of Belarusian agricultural and mining equipment in Zimbabwe. Besides, Zimbabwe is interested in the purchase of Belarusian fertilizers. A contract to the tune of about $10 million is in the pipeline,” state-run news agency BelTA reports.
The sides are exploring cooperation in the energy sector as well in the mining industry and setting up joint mining enterprises in Zimbabwe. In particular, Belarusian professionals and experts’s participation in geological surveys, extraction of oil and gas is being considered.
Mnangagwa took the helm of the state in November 2017, when Robert Mugabe, who had been ruling the country for 27 years, was toppled.
In 1980, when Mugabe took power, Zimbabwe (the former British colony of Rhodesia) was one of the major economies in Africa. Now Zimbabwe is one of the top 30 poorest countries in the world. Mugabe is blamed for afrocentrism, torture and murder of political opponents, corruption and electoral fraud. However, Mnangagwa’s reputation is far from being better – he was given the nickname Crocodile for his cruelty in the course of the domestic war. During Mugabe’s presidency, he was in charge of secret services and had a hand in political repression in Zimbabwe.
belsat.eu
