President Mnangagwa will meet the President of the Russian
Federation Mr Vladmir Putin during his four-nation trip to Europe next week,
The Herald can reveal. The Zimbabwean leader is scheduled to visit Russia,
Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.He will also attend the World Economic Forum
(WEF) summit in Davos, Switzerland, for the second year running.
President Mnangagwa’s high-profile meeting with Mr Putin
will be a high point as Zimbabwe seeks to consolidate and solidify the
engagement processes he has outlined as the focus of his foreign policy under
the Second Republic.
Further, the tour will provide an opportunity to transform
the excellent political ties into mutually beneficial economic ties between
Zimbabwe and the respective countries.
Information availed to this paper by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade underscores that the visits will
promote Zimbabwe’s economic interests, image and influence.
“The President is working hard to give our nation a
positive image to the outside world that underlines our quest to be part of the
international community,” reads a summary brief of the tour. The President will
sell a rebranded Zimbabwe and drum up external support for its “open for
business” paradigm.
“The President is championing the rapprochement and
reengagement with the Western world and International Financial Institutions in
order to normalise relations.
“The other main priority of the President and Government is
to attract FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), promote trade and sourcing of
markets for our products, including promoting the country as a tourist
destination under the new mantra of Zimbabwe is open business,” Foreign Affairs
said.
Individual countries on President Mnangagwa’s tour provide
different opportunities for Zimbabwe.
Russia and Zimbabwe are already cooperating in the
Darwendale Platinum Project. The marquee project has undergone Phase 1, which
is the feasibility study, concluded ahead of schedule last year.
The next phase will see construction and commissioning of
the project. And Presidents Mnangagwa and Putin will discuss progress
and speeding up the implementation of the project.
President Mnangagwa will address the local Chamber of
Commerce and highlight the investment opportunities back home.
Zimbabwe and Russia are cooperating in mining, trade
education and tourism and the former is seeking to increase its trade and
exports to Russia in commodities such as tobacco, handicrafts, citrus, flowers
and vegetables.
Zimbabwe imports fertiliser chemicals, machinery, paper and
plastics, vehicle and aircraft parts, electrical and electronic equipment,
rubber, iron and steel.
Tourism from Russia is set to increase after Zimbabwe
upgraded the visa regime for Russia from Category C to Category B.
Russia is contributing to Zimbabwe’s manpower development
through the provision of scholarships and this year increased scholarship
offers to Zimbabwean learners to 70.
The cordial relations between Zimbabwe and Belarus are set
for a lift when President Mnangagwa returns to the country he toured as Vice
President in 2015.
Last year, Head of the Belarus Presidential Affairs Mr
Viktor Sheiman delivered a special message to
President Mnangagwa congratulating him on the victory in the just ended
elections and inviting him to Belarus.
Zimbabwe and Belarus are experiencing growing relations
with the latter providing mining equipment at Hwange Colliery and Zimbabwe
Mining Development Company which saw an increase in productions in both
concerns.
The wto countries are cooperating in the area of gold
mining while in the energy sector – for which the two signed a memorandum of
Agreement last year – focus will be on hydro-energy, methane gas, solar energy
generation and developing the nascent oil industry.
Belarus is also set to supply tractors and spare parts.
Zimbabwe has opportunities to export tobacco, cotton and
minerals while the European country will sell more machinery and equipment as
well as potash.
Azerbaijan, a country which Zimbabwe started diplomatic
relations only in October 2008, has proposed two areas of cooperation, which
President Mnangagwa will tie during the visit.
Azerbaijan is interested in cooperation in the areas of tax
administration activities and will seek to tie an Agreement on the Promotion
and Reciprocal Protection of Investments.
Currently, trade between the two countries has been
restricted to Zimbabwe’s tobacco exports but Azerbaijan has set sights on
investment opportunities in Zimbabwe’s mining, energy and tourism sectors, on
the back of its increased readiness to invest in Africa.
Azerbaijan, according to indiciations, has significantly
increased its capital investments abroad involving both state run and private
companies.
Zimbabwe will seek to unlock opportunities in Kazakhstan, a
country noted for its wealth of mineral resources that it has managed to
exploit to the benefit of its economy.
Zimbabwe would like to export citrus fruit, coffee, tea and
tobacco to Kazakhstan while it could in turn import agricultural machinery,
petroleum products, construction materials and textiles.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
says during the visit to Astana, the two countries will discuss Kazakhstan,
cooperation in the following fields: Industry – fertilizer and petrol
chemicals; Education and Training.
As a sweetener, Kazakhstan intends to offer scholarships in
the fields of medicine, engineering, and agriculture for Zimbabwean students.
Herald
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