Zimbabwe’s economy is on a recovery path, with the target
of becoming a middle income economy by 2030 set to be achieved, President
Mnangagwa has said.
The President said this in a speech read on his behalf by
Zanu-PF Secretary for Finance Cde Patrick Chinamasa at the inaugural India
Diaspora Convention yesterday.
“The country is on a path to economic recovery,” he said.
“We have set ourselves a shared, ambitious yet achievable vision of becoming a
middle income economy by 2030.
“We are confident that we will achieve this vision.
However, our developmental trajectory will be smoother and softer with support
from friends like India and its corporate citizens and the Indian Diaspora.”
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe and India had strong
historical and cultural relations, with the Indian community contributing to
the country’s development.
“Indeed, that respect is grounded in the immense
contribution and cooperation that this community has made over the years to
this country in business, in politics, in diplomacy, in health, in academia and
in many other walks of life,” he said.
The President said India was a potential market for
Zimbabwe’s goods and a source of investment.
“India is both a potential market for Zimbabwean goods, as
well as a source of investment and technology,” he said. “There is a huge
opportunity for Indian businesses which, taken at its tide, will see this
growing economy in the world establishing a foothold in Zimbabwe in
manufacturing and provision of services for the entire African region.”
President Mnangagwa thanked Indian companies that have
invested in Zimbabwe, adding that vast opportunities were there in the health
sector.
“On the health sector, it is not a secret that Indian
medical and pharmaceutical companies have made a huge impact on the African
market by providing access to life-saving drugs at affordable prices,” he said.
“In Zimbabwe, there are vast opportunities for Indian
pharmaceutical companies to invest and partner local companies to supply the
whole of Southern Africa, if not the continent, with Zimbabwe as the hub for
the medicines and other pharmaceutical products.”
President Mnangagwa thanked the Indian government for
providing a grant for the construction of the India-Africa Incubation Centre
that he recently commissioned.
The centre provides training in entrepreneurship in various
areas that include plastic bottle manufacturing, cell phone assembly, paper and
diaper manufacturing.
President Mnangagwa said Government was working on
improving the investment climate as espoused in the Transitional Stabilisation
Programme.
“We are also intensifying efforts to address the ease of
doing business in Zimbabwe by addressing regulatory bottlenecks and
streamlining bureaucratic processes that have been impeding business,” he said.
“In this regard, we have established the Zimbabwe
Investment and Development Authority, which is a one stop centre for investment
facilitation.
“Government has also established Special Economic Zones as
a strategy to accelerate Foreign Direct Investment in targeted sectors.”
President Mnangagwa urged the Indian Diaspora to continue
playing a positive role in the country’s economy.
Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Rungsung Masakui said the
two countries shared a long history dating back to pre-colonial times.
“India and Zimbabwe are connected by a shared history,
language, culture and people to people relations,” he said. “Before colonialists
came to our respective countries we were already engaged in trade in items that
include gold, metals and fabrics.
“Indian Diaspora has contributed a lot to the development
of this country.” Mr Masakui said the Convention was aimed at raising
awareness of various opportunities available in the country and thanked the
Government for making the Indian community feel at home. Herald
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