Lukashenko and his delegation arrived in the country on
Monday on a three-day State visit and signed several agreements with
government.
A self-confessed authoritarian leader, Lukashenko assumed
power in 1994 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since then, he resisted economic and political reforms,
suppressed dissent in the media and among the people, and led Belarus into
isolation from its European neighbours and the international community.
Lukashenko once declared himself the “last standing
European dictator.”
After endorsing his signature to twin Harare with Minsk,
Mafume was heavily criticised in some quarters for associating with a
self-confessed dictator.
But Mafume yesterday defended himself saying according to
African culture, visitors are not chased away.
“In our culture, a
visitor to your home is welcomed as such. We do not turn away people. A city is
like a church; both good and bad people enter. A city survives the country's
leadership at (any) time,” Mafume said.
He said a time shall come in both Belarus and Zimbabwe
where the two countries will celebrate real freedom.
“Maybe in a good time the two people in both cities will
celebrate freedom in a few years and will be able to share experiences on how
they achieved it,” he said.
Zimbabwe and Belarus signed eight agreements of
co-operation on Tuesday, aimed at strengthening the two countries’ relations in
various sectors, including political, economic, mining, agriculture, and
disaster risk management.
The agreements include contracts and memorandums of
understanding between the countries’ foreign affairs ministers, a twinning
agreement between the capital cities of Harare and Minsk, and contracts for the
supply of Belarusian equipment in Zimbabwe.
At the signing ceremony, Zimbabwe President Emmerson
Mnangagwa expressed appreciation to Lukashenko and announced plans to open
embassies in each other’s countries.
Belarus opened its embassy in Zimbabwe in July 2022.
Newsday
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