Since early 1990s, the Belarusian government actively has been establishing diplomatic, military, and economic relationships with foreign countries. Interestingly, although Belarus is located in the heart of Europe, it has shown special attention to African and Middle Eastern countries. Specifically, the Belarusian government has focused development of its diplomatic, military, and economic efforts on Iraq, until Saadam Husseins’ regime fell in 2003, Iran, Syria, and Sudan – the countries designated by the US State Department as the “State sponsors of terrorism.”

In April 2002, a Belarusian delegation, headed by the deputy head of the Presidential Administration Leonid Kozik, made a visit to Iraq. It planned to discuss the state of bilateral relations, the participation of Belarusian enterprises, and companies in the UN Oil-for-Food Program as well as a delivery of agricultural machinery. In the same year, President Alexander Lukashenka also met with an Iraqi delegation, led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Industry Mullah Abdul Tavvabom Hueyshem. The Belarusian president assured the Iraq delegation that Belarus would provide necessary assistance to help Iraq maintain its health system and address the needs of Iraqi children. Later on, the vice-minister of the Belarusian government, Vladimir Drazhin, stated that Belarus was “the most reliable partner in all areas of joint activity with Iraq.”

I wonder what other former Soviet republics considered themselves as “a reliable partner” with Iraq. Have any ideas? Links?

In September 2001, President Lukashenka met with the chairman of Libya’s Supreme Defense Council, Abu Bakr Younis Jaber, and stated that Belarusian-Libyan relations should be given serious a push. He also noted that neither country should reduce the rate of bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, and scientific areas. A year later, Belarusian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov went to Libya, where he held the first meeting of the Belarusian-Libyan Joint Commission on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical cooperation. It should be noted that despite frequent visits, in 2000 official exports to Libya totaled $2.6 million, and in 2001, there were no exports at all. It should also be mentioned that, according to ONT television, in August 2003, the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank considered a credit of 120 million Euros for Belarus.

So why bother with all these visits? A PR campaign? For whom?

In December 2002, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Khvostov arrived in the Middle East, where he held a meeting with Syrian’s President Bashar Assad and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. The Syrian president assured the Belarusian minister that Syria was committed to continue joint projects in the industrial and agricultural sectors. President Lukashenka personally paid the second visit to Syria, where he was scheduled to meet with the president of Syria, Bashar Assad.

It would not be fair to say that Belarus has dealt only with countries suspected of sponsoring terrorism. Among other Middle Eastern countries, the Belarusian president and his officials paid visits to or invited foreign delegations from Qatar, Bahrain, Pakistan, Algeria, and Lebanon. The Algerian meetings paid off for Belarus, as it exported arms to Algeria in 2001, 2002, and 2004 for a sum of approximately $84 million.

In Pakistan, Belarus supplied tractors, tracks, spare parts, and chemical products. It is interesting to note that, in many cases, the most popular exports are Belarus tractors manufactured by the Minsk Factory of Wheeled Tractors (MZKT). While these tractors are indeed popular, this factory was (and still is) known for manufacturing military machines and supplies: In 2000, the MZKT won a contract to supply Turkish Army with tank transporters and mechanical parts for fuel servicing trucks.

Interesting how some “State sponsors of terrorism” love MZKT tractors. Developing the agricultural sector?

(To be continued…)

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