Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov arrived in Zimbabwe on 15 April for a working visit aimed at deepening trade and technological cooperation with the African nation, Belta reported on April 16. 

Belarus has a long-standing history of agro-machinery production, a defining market for the country since Soviet times, especially the “Belarus” tractor, an outstanding combination of good quality at low cost.

The “Belarus” tractor is famous across the former Soviet Union to this day. 

Previously, Belarus sold predominantly to Central Asia (approximately $198mn in tractors alone in 2023), but has been expanding its trade with Africa since 2015, signing a $58 mn deal with Zimbabwe in 2018 to supply the country with hundreds of agricultural machines such as tractors and precision seed-drills.

Belarusian total exports to African countries grew  5.3 times y/y in 2023 and four-fold in the first eight months of 2024, according Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW).

The visit began with a tour of Bison Agro Machinery, a key player in Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector since its founding in 2020. The company supplies and maintains Belarusian farming equipment, which has become central to the country’s agro-industrial modernisation efforts.

Ryzhenkov inspected the company’s service facilities and infrastructure, and held talks with management on broadening the supply of Belarusian agricultural, cargo and specialised machinery.

“The cooperation between Belarusian manufacturers and Bison Agro Machinery strengthens Belarus' position as a reliable supplier of high-tech solutions for Africa and helps modernise Zimbabwe's agro-industrial complex,” the minister said.

He added that the initiative reflects Belarusian President Alexander Lukoshenko’s strategy to create integrated machinery supply centres with full-cycle service, warranty and maintenance support.

The visit will include high-level meetings with Zimbabwean ministers responsible for foreign affairs, international trade, higher education, science and mining. Ryzhenkov is also expected to meet President Emmerson Mnangagwa as part of a Belarusian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich. The agenda also features a tour of Belarusian machinery under Zimbabwe’s Farm Mechanisation Programme and the signing of several bilateral agreements.

Prior to his arrival in Zimbabwe, Ryzhenkov paid an official visit to Ethiopia, where he met with Foreign Minister Gedion Timotheos. Both sides agreed to accelerate work on a roadmap for cooperation, set to be signed by the two countries’ leaders.

“The intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation should become the main tool for the development of bilateral trade,” Timotheos said, endorsing Belarus’s proposal to formalise the mechanism. Discussions on its establishment are currently underway.