APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Frederick Shava is on a five-day diplomatic offensive to Belarus during which he is seeking to deepen bilateral ties between Harare and Minsk, APA learnt here on Monday.
Shava, who is arrived in Minsk on Sunday and is on an official visit that runs until March 30, met his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik on Monday.
The visit follows the state visit to Zimbabwe by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in January, which culminated in the signing of various agreements and the unveiling of existing programmes in agriculture.
The agreements included cooperation in political and diplomatic spheres, trade, agricultural, military, healthcare and medical science, investment, energy, equipment supplies and maintenance.
Bilateral political cooperation between the two countries has been active in recent years.
In 2022, Belarus and Zimbabwe traded more than US$39 million, which is nearly 57 percent up in comparison with 2021.
The balance of trade was in favour of Belarus whose exports amounted to almost US$30 million.
Belarus supplied tractors and tractor trucks, machines and mechanisms for harvesting and threshing crops, parts and accessories for cars and tractors to Zimbabwe.
Belarus has since 2019 assisted Zimbabwe to modernise and mechanise its agricultural sector.
JN/APA