Фото: Пул первого
Aliaksandr Lukashenka met today with Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). During the meeting, he complained to the UN official about sanctions imposed on Belarusian fertilisers.
“Because geopolitical developments have taken an unfortunate turn, we are now experiencing shortages, particularly of mineral fertilisers, which naturally contribute to higher yields of various crops, especially wheat and corn. As a result, the food problem is becoming more acute.
We are ready to contribute to supplying consumers around the world with mineral fertilisers. Moreover, Belarusian producers account for about 20% of all mineral fertilisers produced globally. Therefore, any sanctions and any attempts to isolate Belarus from the global fertiliser market are counterproductive and have a very negative impact on food security around the world.
We are ready to cooperate with you more extensively to provide the global community and the agricultural sector with mineral fertilisers and to improve food security worldwide.
You know our capabilities. Tell us what we Belarusians should do to improve the food supply situation for the population of our planet,” he said.
It should be noted that on Friday Lukashenka stressed that he had no problems selling fertilisers. According to him, all production volumes, including nitrogen fertilisers, have already been contracted. At the same time, he noted that it would be beneficial to resume exports through Lithuania, as in the past, because that route provides higher margins.
Lukashenka also emphasised that Belarus has a highly developed agricultural sector, produces the full range of agricultural machinery required for farming and helps other countries adopt agricultural technologies.
“Most importantly, we are now cooperating with countries that need technologies in the field of agribusiness. We do not simply sell them food products; we do everything possible to ensure that these countries and their citizens can produce agricultural products themselves. We train people both there and in Belarus, and we have achieved significant results in food production and in helping to provide food security, for example in Africa,” he said.
For his part, the Chinese UN official began by praising Lukashenka.
“You are known not only in Russia and China. You are a well-known politician throughout the world. I would like to express my appreciation and highest regard for the contribution you have made to Belarus’s development. It is especially valuable what you have achieved since the country gained independence in the 1990s up to its current prosperity — Belarus is now an upper-middle-income country. This process took place under very difficult conditions. Tremendous work has been done. You have demonstrated an excellent balance between political leadership, stability, economic development and social protection,” he said.