Source: Foreign envoys reaffirm support – herald
Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
ENVOYS from Italy, Japan and Egypt have reaffirmed their support for Zimbabwe’s development agenda which seeks to attain an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
The commitment was made when the three countries’ Ambassadors to Zimbabwe paid courtesy calls on Vice President Dr Kembo Mohadi at his offices in Harare.
Italian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Giuseppe Giacalone, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening bilateral trade relations with Zimbabwe.
Speaking after meeting Vice President Mohadi, Mr Giacalone said they discussed ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation in investment, infrastructure development, trade and cultural exchanges.
He also briefed the Vice President on Zimbabwe’s participation in the ongoing Venice Biennale Arts Festival, where five local artists are taking part.
Mr Giacalone said they also discussed Zimbabwe’s preparations to host the 58th CIMAM Annual Conference scheduled for November at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
“The discussion with Vice President Mohadi was really interesting and productive. We recapitulated and discussed the historical friendship and closeness between Italy and Zimbabwe, the strong relations that we have, and the importance of strengthening them.
“First of all, on the commercial side, we have a solid and dynamic trade exchange, but we can do more.
“So I told the Honourable Vice President, my task, my priority commitment will be to strengthen the bilateral trade relationship between our two countries,” he said.
Mr Giacalone said they also discussed current investments in dam construction under We Build Group, including the Tokwe-Mukosi project.
Egyptian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Dr Maha Serag Eldin Kamel also paid a courtesy call on Vice President Mohadi and said the forthcoming African union Mid-Year Summit would provide Zimbabwe with an opportunity to expand its investment portfolio, as the event would bring together African countries to discuss business issues.
The summit is scheduled for next month.
Dr Kamel said her visit to Vice President Mohadi was meant to renew Egypt’s commitment to supporting Zimbabwe in implementing its development efforts.
She said they discussed co-operation in the health, construction, political and economic sectors.
Dr Kamel said bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Egypt dated back to the liberation struggle, during which Egypt supported Zimbabwe’s fight for independence.
She said the two countries continued to enjoy excellent bilateral relations and that the meeting provided an opportunity to explore further areas of co-operation.
Dr Kamel said Egypt would host the African union Mid-Year Summit in the coastal city of El Alamein on the Mediterranean Sea in June.
She said the summit would be held alongside the inaugural El Alamein Africa Forum, a business forum expected to attract African countries and private sector players from across the continent.
Japanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Nobutaka Maekawa, also paid a courtesy call on Vice President Mohadi.
Mr Maekawa reaffirmed Japan’s co-operation with Zimbabwe in agriculture, health, tourism and mining.
He said the two countries had agreed to further strengthen relations through the promotion of business co-operation in key sectors.
“This is a very good discussion, and so our discussion focuses on the accumulation of our very deep and constant co-operation over the past years and also further possibilities of co-operation in diverse sectors such as agriculture or health care, tourism, mining and so on.
“The most important thing is that we agree with the further promotion of business-driven co-operation in major sectors.
“I also then added that Japan would like to further strengthen this cooperation tangibly and cooperatively and in optimal combination with the conventional development assistance which the Japanese government has so far achieved,” he said.
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