FRANCE is shifting its relationship with Zimbabwe to a practical, innovation-driven partnership, away from being just a donor, its ambassador to Zimbabwe, Paul-Bertrand Barets, has said.
The new thrust signals France’s renewed commitment to strengthening economic and development cooperation with Zimbabwe.
France remains one of Zimbabwe’s largest creditors, as it is a member of the Paris Club, to which the southern African nation owes over US$4 billion in external debt, obligations that exclude the latter’s government from receiving lines of credit from the former.
Trade between Zimbabwe and France totalled US$23 million in 2024. Zimbabwe imported goods worth US$20,89 million from France against exports of US$2,15 million to the European giant.
Speaking at the just-ended In Conversation with Trevor Ideas Festival in Nyanga, Barets said recent engagements were reshaping France–Zimbabwe ties in a way that aligned with investment, research, private sector collaboration, and long-term development priorities.
“We are no longer in this logic of donation. We are in the logic of partnership, of partnership on an equal footing, of a relation that is beneficial to the startups and to ourselves,” Barets said.
“We invest our money. It’s our money. It’s the French taxpayer’s money that we invest in Zimbabwe to create promising, convincing startups.”
He noted that the foundation for this renewed momentum was laid in October 2024 when a French business delegation visited Harare for the first time in a decade, in coordination with the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI).
The visit included high-level meetings across government and industry, resulting in a cooperation agreement between the French employer association, Mouvement des Entreprises de France International, and CZI.
The success of this mission has led to a planned return business mission to France.
“It is about building durable partnerships founded on mutual benefits and long-term vision,” Barets said.
Beyond economic dialogue, the diplomat highlighted a growing portfolio of sector partnerships that are already taking shape.
“France and Zimbabwe are building a relationship grounded in trust, partnership and a shared belief in innovation. We are transforming dialogue into delivery and goodwill into growth,” Barets said.
Tourism cooperation has recently resumed at the ministerial level, with the two sides working towards a formal agreement to strengthen exchanges in hospitality and destination development.
In agriculture, Barets said, France is working with ZimTrade to develop Zimbabwe’s honey value chain, including the establishment of a new honey testing laboratory to help local producers meet European Union export standards.
He added that scientific and technological collaboration was also being expanded.
Barets said a new biological laboratory had been established at the University of Zimbabwe, funded for €2,8 million (US$3,24 million) and implemented with French research institutions, French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.
The facility is designed to detect zoonotic diseases that threaten livestock and public health, strengthening Zimbabwe’s agricultural resilience and compliance with international sanitary standards.
Barets stressed that France is now engaging with Zimbabwean entrepreneurship through investment partnerships rather than aid.
He pointed to the Digital Africa Fuze programme, which selected a local startup for financing after pitching its artificial intelligence-driven credit scoring system to French innovation
experts.
The ambassador also announced the establishment of a joint France–Zimbabwe working group on green finance, carbon markets and biodiversity.
The initiative, he said, aimed to bring together government experts, private investors, and philanthropic partners to channel funding into conservation and climate-linked development projects.
Expectations of expanding the platform further by next year are currently on the cards.
Barets said these developments reflected a shift toward sustainable, innovation-led cooperation with Zimbabwe.
The just-ended festival was the fourth edition of the In Conversation with Trevor Ideas Festival, which ran under the theme ‘The Future of Human Capital, Innovation, and Ethics in the Age of AI’ (artificial intelligence).
The festival was convened by Alpha Media Holdings chairman Trevor Ncube.
AMH is the publisher of NewsDay, Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard, and runs an online broadcasting channel, HStv.-nwsda
