Belarus-BRICS. Takeaways from Aleinik's visit to South Africa

Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik took part in the events of the 15th BRICS summit in South Africa on 23-24 August, BelTA has learned.

On the sidelines of the summit the Belarusian minister held bilateral talks with the head of Eritrea, the counterparts from Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“The meetings highlighted the issues of bilateral cooperation, supplies of Belarusian products to the markets of these countries, joint cooperation projects, coordination of schedules of upcoming contacts and visits at various levels, development of the bilateral legal framework,” the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

One of the key topics discussed at the summit was food security, the main concern for the vast majority of the countries. This problem is especially acute for the African continent. “In this regard, the discussion touched upon Belarus' possible assistance to the region, including the supply of agricultural machinery and equipment, and specialist training services,” the ministry said. “The supply of Belarusian Halal agricultural products and opportunities for joint work with African countries was additionally discussed with the Gulf countries. A number of agreements have been reached, the implementation of which is set to begin in the near future.”