Belarus' SMEs urged to build contacts with South African nations

It is important to build close contacts and deepen cooperation with South African countries, Chairman of the Supreme Coordinating Council of the Union of Legal Entities “Belarusian Confederation of Entrepreneurship” Andrei Kopytok said as he met with a business delegation from the Republic of Mali, BelTA learned from the confederation.

The Belarusian Confederation of Entrepreneurship is actively involved in establishing a constructive dialogue and international contacts. “It is important to build close cooperation with South African countries, to deepen interaction between small and medium-sized businesses that drive economies forward amidst regionalization and geo-economics processes. We see a surge in activity in this region after the arrival of the president's delegation in Zimbabwe. This visit was a starting point, and since our confederation plays an active role in promoting international cooperation, we see building close relations with the region of South Africa as one of our priorities,” Andrei Kopytok said.

In particular, the parties discussed business contacts in agriculture, engineering education, the creation of new facilities in industry and medicine, as well as the exchange of business delegations. “We view science and education as some of the priority avenues of cooperation, since many people from Mali who have successfully graduated from our universities are developing agriculture in their country. We discussed assistance in arranging seminars, business forums, conferences, exhibitions, as well as the possibility of granting diplomas online and an offline internship program for a group of students at one of Belarus' universities. It should be noted that the legendary MTZ tractor that was gifted to the president of Zimbabwe by his Belarusian counterpart has made rounds across entire South Africa and new partners are ready to sign contracts to buy our products, including combines, refrigerators, motorcycles,” Andrei Kopytok noted.