The President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, on Wednesday said his country is ready to partner with Nigeria On agriculture, food processing, industry and education.
Lukashenko said this when he received the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu, at his office in, Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
The Senior Special Assistant to the First Lady on Media, Busola Kukoyi, revealed this in a statement she signed late Wednesday titled ‘President of Belarus says his country is eager for more collaboration with Nigeria.’
He highlighted some of the areas Belarus is looking at for cooperation between the two countries to include Agriculture, Food processing, Industry and Education.
The President who spoke through an interpreter pointed out that Mrs Tinubu’s visit has further strengthened his administration’s resolve to enhance bilateral relations with Nigeria noting that one key area they would be hoping to collaborate is on specialist training.
He said, “We know your needs and we know the possibilities that you have. Let me underline that these possibilities are significant for us. We can render significant assistance to you and you can reciprocate for us”.
“We are willing to explore deeper collaboration in the area of education with your country”.
“Please ask President Bola Tinubu for the visit of our Minister of Foreign Affairs to your country so we can develop these areas of collaboration further”.
Responding the First Lady thanked Lukashenko, especially for providing 20 Nigerian Students full Scholarships through her initiative, Renewed Hope Initiative.
She explained that the RHI is currently involved in empowering women, especially through the Women in Agriculture programme which is a way to improve food security and production in Nigeria.
She assured him that Nigeria would also be reaching out further to the Republic of Belarus to see how the desired collaboration between the two nations would be pursued.
Earlier, the First Lady met the Belarusian Minister of Education Andrey Ivanets who revealed that there are about 600 Nigerian students in the country.
Ivanets said the students who are studying in various fields are performing well academically and that his Ministry looks forward to formalising a bilateral agreement with Nigeria.
He said the Belarusian government hopes to establish Specialists Training Centers in Nigeria.
On her part, Mrs Tinubu commended the Work Experience programme of Belarus, saying Nigeria will explore a similar route.
During her visit, the First Lady also met the Speaker of Belarus parliament Ms Natalya Kochanova and members of the Women’s Union of Belarus made of women professionals from all sectors.