Belarus and countries of Latin America

Development of cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries as well as with major integration associations of this region gets in line with the long-term goal of Belarus to pursue a balanced foreign policy.

Belarus considers Latin America as an important platform for integration into international trade and economic relations. The economies of Belarus and the leading countries of the region complement one another.

Understanding the necessity to secure a just world order and achieve sustainable development goals bring together Belarus and a number of Latin American countries. Relations with some of them have already reached the strategic partnership level, while relations with the others witness an increasing level of cooperation in the political sphere, trade, economy, education, science, etc.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and Barbados in 2019, Belarus officially maintains diplomatic relations with all 33 States of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Belarusian embassies are located in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba. Besides countries of their residence, most of Belarusian Ambassadors are concurrently accredited to neighboring countries. As a result, Belarus is officially represented in all major Latin American and Caribbean countries. 

Along with that, Honorary Consuls promote interests of Belarus in Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Uruguay.

Brazil is one of Belarus' leading trade partners in the Latin American region. It is in our strategic interests to deepen our multifaceted interaction with this 214-million-strong country. The main emphasis is placed on further expansion of cooperation in trade and economic, scientific and technical and other areas.

Cuba has long been a reliable partner of Belarus in the region. A high level of bilateral political, trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, as well as mutual support on international platforms are traditional elements of the Belarusian-Cuban relations. In 2023, the high level of bilateral cooperation was confirmed by the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus to Cuba, the visit of the Prime Minister of Cuba to our country, as well as a number of reciprocal visits of the leadership of government agencies and business circles of the two countries.

Friendly relations with Venezuela occupy an important place in the Latin American agenda of Belarus. In 2023, active contacts between the foreign ministries of the two countries, the visit of the Venezuelan Foreign Minister to Belarus, and the meeting of the joint commission for trade and economic cooperation held in Minsk, confirmed the absence of disagreements with the Venezuelan leadership on the main issues on the bilateral and multilateral agenda, as well as the interest of the leadership of the two countries in the development of cooperation in industrial cooperation, agriculture and food, construction, petrochemicals, mining and forestry industry.

Interaction with Nicaragua is actively developing. In 2023, the foreign ministers of the two countries exchanged visits, and the meeting of the joint commission for trade and economic cooperation was held in Minsk. As part of the bilateral events, important agreements were reached on supplies of Belarusian machinery to Nicaragua.

Important steps were taken to develop Belarus's interaction with the Dominican Republic. The Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Russia was accredited to Belarus for the first time, and the Belarusian side also accredited the Ambassador of Belarus to Cuba to the Dominican Republic for the first time.

Since the opening of the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Colombia in 2021, active steps have been taken to develop direct contacts with the leadership of government agencies and business circles of this country, to provide Colombian partners with reliable information about the situation in Belarus and the Eastern European region as a whole, and to hold presentation events to promote Belarusian export potential. This country
of 50-million people, which has a rather capacious market, is regarded
as a promising market for exports of Belarusian goods and services.

Services occupy a special place in the cooperation with Ecuador – a branch of the belarusian company “Belorusneft” has been successfully operating in this country for more than ten years. The investments of “Belorusneft” in the oil and gas production sector of Ecuador have allowed the company to form a functioning oil production cluster and created a significant foundation for the development of a number of promising oil-bearing areas.

Constructive cooperation with Argentina is maintained. In 2023, the management of the National Bank of Belarus visited this country in order to strengthen cooperation between financial and banking organizations of the two countries.

The potential of the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Moscow, where the embassies of most Latin American countries are located, is actively used in the work to strengthen cooperation with countries of this region. In 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, together with Belarusian government agencies and business circles, organized the second Belarusian-Latin American Forum to promote Belarusian economic interests in Latin America.

At present, the main foreign policy efforts of Belarus in Latin America are focused on strengthening the political dialogue with priority partners, as well as on building fruitful trade and economic relations with other most promising countries in the region.

⇒ Belarus in International Relations