Zimbabwe deepens trade commitments with Belarus

Businesses in Zimbabwe and Belarus are set to benefit from strengthened engagements following the commitment by Governments of the two countries to facilitate engagements between their private sectors.

Speaking during the recent diplomatic visit to Belarus where he also toured major Belarusian industrial enterprises, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Honourable Ambassador Frederick Shava, implored ZimTrade and its Belarusian counterpart, the National Centre for Marketing to create platforms that will promote trade between the two countries.

“We visited some industries here in Minsk and there are vast areas for collaboration between businesses in Belarus and those in Zimbabwe.

“What is important going forward is to create platforms that will make it easy for these businesses to find each other and collaborate.

“I, therefore, challenge ZimTrade and its counterpart, the National Centre for Marketing to come up with programmes and activities that will improve engagements between our private sector, and ultimately trade between our two countries,” he said.

During the official visit by Minister Shava to Belarus, ZimTrade and its Belarusian counterpart, the National Centre for Marketing, signed an agreement to strengthen trade between the two countries.

The visit by Minister Shava is a continuation of the momentum that was set by the historic State Visit to Zimbabwe by the President of the Republic of Belarus, His Excellency Aleksandr Lukashenko earlier this year.

The visit is part of the activities lined up to deepen bilateral ties between Zimbabwe and Belarus, through strengthening existing cooperation in the various sectors, identifying new sectors for cooperation, and identifying trade and investment opportunities.

Minister Shava said there is high commitment from Presidents Mnangagwa and Lukashenko to strengthen bilateral relations, and that must be visible through increased trade and investment between the two countries.

“Our relations are at an all-time high and our Presidents are committed to seeing this materialise into meaningful economic gains for our countries.

“We need to see ZimTrade and National Centre for Marketing unlock available opportunities by tapping into areas we all enjoy competitive advantage.

“Zimbabwe has differentiated quality products that clearly have a market in Belarus, including fruits and vegetables, processed foods, tobacco, and cotton.

“Likewise, Belarus has products such as agricultural equipment that will benefit our mechanisation drive,” said Minister Shava.

Minister Shava also met with President Lukashenko and Deputy Prime Minister Petr Parkhomchyk where they reviewed the Belarus-Zimbabwe cooperation.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Mikalai Barysevich, said that the engagements between the Presidents of the two countries demonstrate potential for collaboration and will contribute towards attainment of Zimbabwe’s developmental targets.

“The impetus given by our Presidents confirms that there is considerable potential for bilateral cooperation.

“I am confident that the outcomes of our deliberations can grow into new projects that will contribute to the achievement of the goals of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 long-term development strategy,” said Minister Barysevich.

The ground has been cleared, and all the leaders from both countries are urging the business community to take advantage of the excellent relations to take the cooperation to another level-herald