Continued from “Belarus: Befriending the Axis of Terror”
When the Belarusian president met with the Zambian ambassador in March 2001, he stressed that both countries needed to increase trade levels. Belarus, located in the heart of Europe, was becoming increasingly interested in economic and diplomatic cooperation with various African states. A few months after meeting the Zambian officials, President Lukashenka signed a decree establishing diplomatic relations with the Republic of Congo that, according to Amnesty International, was “the place of widespread violations of human rights is the Great Lakes region.”
In December 2001, Belarusian officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “Belarus was to further enhance the Belarusian-African dialogue.” Thereafter, in 2002, while meeting with ambassadors from Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa, President Lukashenka confirmed that Belarus was extremely interested in cooperation with the Southern African Development Community. 
Why would be Belarus be SO interested in cooperation with theses countries? Could not they find closer trading partners?
In 2003, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Martynov met with Gambia’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Baboucarr-Blaise Jagne. According to Martynov, Belarus was interested in developing trade relations with Gambia because it would help to ease Belarus’s entrance to the markets of other countries in West Africa. Belarusian officials also visited the Republic of South Africa in October 2003.
Later that year, Belarus signed a contract to deliver 20,000 motorcycles to seven African countries through a single African dealer. During the same year, Sudanese officials and Belarusian automakers signed a contract to deliver 100 cars to Sudan. In addition, it was reported that Sudan bought nearly 1,000 tractors manufactured in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Interesting enough, Saddam’s Iraq was also interested in the very same tractors. Dual-use machinery?
However, the obsessive interest in Africa and frequent visits of officials poses an interesting question: Could Belarus not find closer trade partners? Even if one truly believes in global markets and trade movements between continents, Belarus’s choice of partners was puzzling. For example, Zimbabwe’s GDP per capita is paltry $54.6 (2008 update), and its GDP as a share of world total is not even listed in the 2009−2010 Global Competiveness Report. Following the trend is Mozambique with a GDP per capita of around $462.3, Zambia with $1150.5, and Namibia with $1150.5.
Further, according to the Global Competitiveness Report, these African countries suffer from poor access to financing, an inadequately educated workforce, and a poor work ethic. It is hard to believe that such business characteristics would be beneficial for economic and trade programs between Belarus and above-mentioned African countries—some of which, such as Sudan, were designated as states that sponsor terrorism and are accused of human rights violations. And indeed, only Sudan and South Africa were listed as the major trade partners in the statistical book of the foreign trade of the Republic of Belarus, which shows trade numbers for the fiscal years 2006 through 2009.
What went largely unreported by media and official statements was the fact that many of the above mentioned potential trade partners had lax anti-money laundering laws (as of 2004). For example, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe did not have client-profiling guidelines for financial services intermediaries. Nor most of these countries, except Namibia, were required to report suspicious transactions. Moreover, the use of shell companies and trust funds associated with suspicious economic activities was reported in Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
It would be very convenient to conduct secretive business deals in countries with lax financial regulations. It could benefit the so-called Special Presidential Fund of President Lukashenka. No traces…
To be continued…
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