Lukashenko meets Zimbabwe foreign minister in Minsk

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has met visiting Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Frederik Shava in Minsk, state-owned Belarus 24 TV channel said on Tuesday.

The two countries identified new areas in co-operation, including the humanitarian sphere, education, maternity and childhood care, and baby food, Mr Lukashenko said.

He said that President Emmerson Mnangagwa's wife will visit Belarus soon to deal with the issues.

The Belarusian president said he continues delivering on commitments made during a meeting with Mr Mnangagwa earlier this year.

He said he talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin about co-operation with Zimbabwe and other African states and secured his "total commitment" to this co-operation.

Zimbabwe has achieved a lot in the area of food security thanks to Belarus, TV quoted Mr Shava as saying.

"We are helping this country to mechanise its farms," the Belarusian TV said.

"Equipment worth of $66m (£54m) will be supplied within the next year and a half," it said.

Zimbabwe is also opening its embassy in Belarus and will appoint the ambassador within the next few months, it reported.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

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