ZIMBABWE and Botswana must move beyond agreements to actual production, trade and job creation, ministers from both countries said on Friday at the Zimbabwe–Botswana Business Forum held in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Professor Amon Murwira, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary Ambassador Albert Ranganai Chimbindi, said the forum was not a routine business gathering but a mission of production, trade, investment, job creation and economic cooperation that must translate into tangible prosperity.
“What is diplomacy if it does not improve the material conditions of our people?” he asked.
“What is friendship between nations if it does not enter warehouses, farms, mines, industrial parks, logistics corridors, retail shelves and export contracts?”
Prof Murwira noted that a bilateral trade arrangement already allows duty-free entry of qualifying goods with at least 25 percent local content. He said this is neither theory nor aspiration, adding that it is an existing instrument.
Yet 2024 trade data shows Zimbabwe exported US$39,15 million to Botswana and imported US$45,5 million, for a total merchandise trade of US$84,65 million.
For two countries with such close proximity, such historical affinity and such complementary production capabilities, Minister Murwira said US$84,65 million is not enough.
“It is a stream on the road to the mountaintop, but we must never mistake the stream for the destination,” he added.
The forum was held on the sidelines of the 66th Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), which was officially opened by Botswana President Advocate Duma Boko on Thursday.
About 18 companies from different sectors in Botswana exhibited at this year’s ZITF, which ran under the theme: “Connected Economies, Competitive Industries.”
Minister Murwira said the future growth of Zimbabwe and Botswana lies in joint production, not just trading finished goods.
“We must move from trade in isolation to integrated value chains; from raw commodities to beneficiation and processing,” said Professor Murwira.
Priority sectors include agro-processing, building materials, pharmaceuticals, mining services and mineral value addition, logistics, and tourism, with Prof Murwira saying integration does not weaken sovereignty but strengthens it, linking the agenda to Pan-Africanism and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
He also urged commercialisation of heritage products such as traditional foods, textiles and crafts as strategic products that carry the two nations’ DNA.
Minister Murwira challenged the private sector, saying: “Governments can open doors, but ultimately, you are the ones that transact business.”
He urged firms to move beyond exchanging business cards to negotiating product lines, pricing, standards, volumes and delivery timelines.
“Let this forum not end as a networking event, but let it become a pipeline of transactions,” he said.
Botswana’s Trade and Entrepreneurship Minister Tiroeaone Ntsima said the forum builds on the recent Bi-National Commission and the State Visit to Zimbabwe by Botswana’s President.
He said the Bilateral Trade Agreement remains a key instrument providing duty-free treatment for qualifying goods, and urged firms to use it.
He highlighted agriculture, tourism, mining beneficiation, manufacturing and financial services as priority sectors for joint ventures.
Both countries stressed diversification, with Minister Ntsima saying Botswana is reforming to attract investment beyond diamonds and improve the ease of doing business.
Prof Murwira said recent engagements in Harare confirmed that “resilience lies in diversification, in industrial depth, services growth, value addition and wider market integration,” with Minister Ntsima noting that global tensions underscore the need for regional self-sufficiency, and resource-rich nations must position themselves in energy, agriculture and mineral value chains.
Minister Ntsima said the forum aims to turn policy into tangible economic outcomes through business-to-business engagements.
Prof Murwira closed with a call to move from promise to pipeline, from market access to market penetration, from neighbouring states to productive partners, and from shared borders to shared prosperity.-herald
