BELARUSIAN President Aleksandr Lukashenko has said Zimbabwe will overcome its difficulties due to the hard work being done by the Government.
President Lukashenko was in Victoria Falls where he sampled some tourism activities and local dishes.
The Belarusian President was hosted by President Mnangagwa.
He visited the Rainforest and had a mini-game drive at the Elephant, Lion and Cheetah Experience.
Signing the visitors’ book at the exit gate at the Rainforest, President Lukashenko said he was grateful to President Mnangagwa for the opportunity to visit Victoria Falls.
“Zimbabwean people can overcome all difficulties and with all the work that is happening, they can turn this country into a flourishing oasis. I sincerely believe in the strength of relations between Minsk and Harare and this city is a city of fabulous beauty,” he said writing in Russian language.
Speaking during the historic visit, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Permanent Secretary Ambassador James Manzou said Belarus and Zimbabwe have always enjoyed excellent relations and Belarus has not imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
“This is a very important visit from a European President, but he is not only a European President. He is a President who is a friend of Zimbabwe and through that we look at the engagement and reaffirmation of foreign policy.
“We may not have had a European President coming to Victoria Falls in a long time and this is very important to us as we have excellent relations with Belarus. The President has said sanctions or no sanctions Zimbabwe will succeed,” said Ambassador Manzou.
Some world personalities especially in the arts sector and Heads of Government from Asian countries have privately visited the destination over the years.
Ambassador Manzou said the coming of the President of Belarus is a reaffirmation of excellent relationship at Head of State and country level.
He said the fruits of the visit will be seen in tourism as Zimbabwe looks set to receive Belarusian nationals.
“In Harare we signed agreements to do with trade and investment but here the population of Belarus is being exposed to the beauty of Victoria Falls and we look forward in future to developing Belarus as one of those source markets for tourism industry. The President of Belarus really loved this,” he said.
Tourism executives said the visit by President Lukashenko is a wake-up call to other European Presidents that the Southern African country is a safe destination for business and leisure.
“We have not had a visit by a European President and the last time could have been during CHOGM (in 1991). Right now we are building up our destination Zimbabwe and so many people have different feelings about visiting Zimbabwe.
“So seeing other Europeans coming to Zimbabwe just gives a boost and confidence to other countries in the European Union to say it’s safe to visit Zimbabwe, it’s a good destination and full of areas to visit.
“We are busy building up confidence as we have had a lot of negative publicity and with a high profile visit by a President this just gives a lot of confidence to other presidents to want to visit Zimbabwe,” said tourism executive Ms Barbara Murasiranwa.
She said Victoria Falls is hub where people can fly into and connect to other destinations.
“We are so excited about the visit and we believe we are definitely going to have other Presidents following suit and give confidence to their fellow citizens that Zimbabwe is a safe destination and it’s a world of wonders.
“This is the first time a Belarus President is visiting Sub Saharan Africa and Zimbabwe had to be the first port of call, riding on the success of the policy of engagement and re-engagement,” she said.
Victoria Falls town clerk Mr Ronny Dube who was also part of the delegation said the visit is significant as it highlights the importance of the city as a tourist destination of choice.
He said this shows the significance of the city and will become a strong marketing strategy for the destination. – The Herald
