Ambassador of Belarus to Egypt: Belarusians are loved here

Sergei Terentyev Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Egypt What connects Belarus with the countries of Africa and the Middle East, what opportunities does the Egyptian market offer and what Belarusian products can already be found on the shelves of stores in the Middle East? A BELTA correspondent talked to Ambassador of Belarus to Egypt Sergei Terentyev.

- How are Africa and the Middle East changing in general now? How can we build a political and economic dialogue so that it is mutually beneficial?

- This region is developing dynamically, first of all. It is important to note that the countries of this region are mostly turning to us. If there was a certain period of calm, some concerns or, perhaps, embarrassment, then in the last year we feel movement forward, we feel interest in us.

The market is huge. The population of Egypt is currently officially 107 million people, over the past year it has increased by 2 million people. They need to eat, they need to dress, they need to get an education, and this is a huge niche. And I am talking only about Egypt . The same applies to Algeria, a very progressive country. We convert this positive attitude towards us and political contacts into economic relations with them.

Sudan is our traditional partner, things are not easy there now. There is essentially a civil war going on, but the Sudanese know us. I will even say it frankly: the Sudanese love us, and we love them. Therefore, I think that we also convert mutual respect and mutual friendship with Sudan.

Oman is a small country, but they are focused on trade and always say: "Come to us, and we will help you in South Africa, Yemen, South Asia." Where we are already present, of course, but why not? Therefore, the Omanis are also very interesting partners. And, I repeat once again, all the countries I mentioned are turned to face us.

- Trade turnover is not only numbers, but also dynamics. What have you noted for yourself recently and how are our trade relations developing today?

- Those were difficult years. The dynamics were different - both up and down. But I can't say that I'm satisfied. I can't say that we've reached our peak. There's a common phrase: "The potential of our cooperation is not being fully realized." That's exactly it. The Egyptians, the Algerians, even Sudan and Oman - all these countries can represent a large, interesting market for us. When we master one niche, we'll be able to move on.

We shouldn't forget about services, investment cooperation. We shouldn't forget about the possibility of attracting investment from these countries. Volumes are one thing. The quality of trade, the range of products - that's something else.
We need to work, and we are working to improve the quality of our trade range. We need to focus on the long term, not on short-term moments, in order to be here for a long time and strategically.

- You touched upon the range of goods. Is it changing in general? And what should be offered to this market in the near future?

- We are currently paying special attention to working with food. In principle, the food sector is strategic. You should always eat, no matter what happens. Recent years have shown that you should not forget about food

, so it is important to stake out a position in the Egyptian food market. We are already present here with our MILK. You can walk around Egyptian stores, you will see our chips. I really hope that our confectionery will soon appear here.

I really hope that other products will appear that will be to the taste of Egyptians. Our tastes even overlap in many ways. Of course, wood processing products are new. But our traditional goods, which have been here since the times of the Soviet Union, our mechanical engineering products, of course, are also very promising, we have not mastered everything in this area, we need to work in this direction too.

And I am talking, of course, about our educational and medical services, high-tech services, high-tech goods. By the way, why have the contacts and cooperation of the National Academy of Sciences with the Egyptians and Omanis been developing very actively lately (I hope the same will happen with Algeria and Sudan). This shows interest in our high technologies.

Medicine. We must work and are already working on the EXPORT of medical services. There is interest in our medicine. I think the potential is very large.

What is interesting is that in the region of my responsibility there is solvent demand. Even in the most, let's say, disadvantaged countries, where there is a civil war, even with them we can work in this direction.

In pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicine, I think all these areas are very promising. And, by the way, not only in the sphere of trade, but also in the sphere of investment and technology.

- If we pay attention to investment cooperation, we are talking only about attracting Belarusian investments, for example, to the Egyptian market or in the opposite direction, we are also expecting Egyptian investments in our country and what are we ready to jointly develop? - There are highly developed sectors in Egypt that are of interest to us. Let's go back to pharmaceuticals. There is a very highly developed pharmaceutical sector here, a lot of strong companies. And Egyptian medicines

are also entering our market. So why don't we talk to them about getting their technologies and investments? We know very well that the light industry is highly developed in the Middle East, in Egypt. Let's work on this. When we say that Egypt is a gateway to Africa for us, why shouldn't Belarus be a gateway for Egypt or for the countries of the region in the EAEU?


, the Eurasian region? I think Belarus fully deserves this status.

- If we talk about a joint venture, then what equipment and how should we build our strategy in this market?

- Of course, having an enterprise here that will be focused not only on the Egyptian market, but also on the African market, given the existence of a free trade agreement here, is great and promising. But everything needs to be calculated.

We are working on several projects in the field of industrial cooperation with both Egypt and Algeria. We were recently in Algeria and very specifically worked out issues of assembling trucks, passenger vehicles and tractors.

There is great interest in our grain storage facilities, construction equipment. This is all happening right now. If our enterprises see that this is profitable, we will calculate everything together with them. If they see that this is profitable, why should we refuse?

If we see that it is more profitable for us to keep the added value in assembly that goes into assembly, let's supply fully assembled equipment, and then our dealers, our distribution networks, including, perhaps, even our own distribution network entities, should be fully present here.

- Who are our main competitors here in equipment?

- I will tell you honestly that we are not afraid of our competitors. That's one. I can list many, so to speak, but this is not an obstacle for us. That is, we can say, for example, that Chinese or Indian equipment is cheaper (I'm talking about tractors, for example). Our equipment has undeniable advantages that we must promote, advertise and use. Therefore, yes, there are competitors, but we should not stop, and the presence of competitors cannot in any way be an excuse for us.

- Egypt is already a well-known tourist route for Belarusians. What about other countries?

- We are currently working on the issue of opening direct air service with Oman. The Omanis are interested in attracting our tourists.

Also on the agenda is opening direct flights between Algiers and MINSK. If we can do this, tourism will grow. Not only between people, but also from the business side. There are great prospects here. I repeat, all of Africa, and especially North Africa, is very promising. We should be here.

BELTA.