President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, on behalf of the Belarusian people and himself, congratulated Bola Tinubu on assuming the office of President of Nigeria and invited him to visit Minsk, the press service of the Belarusian head of state reported.
"Alexander Lukashenko invited Bola Tinubu to visit Minsk at a convenient time for him to discuss a full range of bilateral contacts during a personal meeting," the press service reported.
In his congratulatory message to Tinubu, Lukashenko noted that Belarusian-Nigerian cooperation, which spans over 30 years, serves a reliable foundation for this comprehensive mutually beneficial partnership.
"I am convinced that your work as the head of state will contribute to its further development and prosperity […]. I am confident that the established foundation will help bring cooperation in the areas of supply and maintenance of equipment, education, healthcare and maternal and child health, industry, agriculture and food security to a qualitatively new level," the Belarusian president stated.
He expressed hope that both nations' traditionally friendly relations would keep on strengthening for the benefit of the Belarusian and Nigerian people.
Earlier, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleynik stated that the US-led Western sanctions are forcing Minsk to reorient foreign economic activity, and therefore Belarus is obviously interested in Africa on this score.