Indaba to show real Zimbabwe to the world — Amb Chimbindi 

Sunday Mail Reporter

THE forthcoming 44th SADC Heads of State and Government Summit will afford the country the opportunity to showcase its stability and progress, as well as ultimately show the real Zimbabwe to the world, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Permanent Secretary Ambassador Albert Chimbindi has said.

In an interview broadcast on ZTN Prime yesterday, Amb Chimbindi said over 2 000 delegates are expected to attend the regional indaba next month, providing a significant boost to the economy, particularly in tourism and transportation sectors.

“You would know that we are going to receive almost around 2 000 people who will be participating in the summit and there are a lot of upstream and downstream benefits . . . ,” said Amb Chimbindi.

“Of course, these people will want to experience the warmth of the Zimbabwean people.

“And for some of the people, including the media, it would be their first time to come to Zimbabwe and actually experience the real Zimbabwe. I have been working outside the country and sometimes when you are reading what is in the media and on social media platforms, you wouldn’t think this is the Zimbabwe that we are living in.

“So, it’s also a good time for those who are visiting to see for themselves what Zimbabwe really is . . . to interface with the people of Zimbabwe and see what Zimbabwe has to offer.

“This is the first benefit that we will have because we are receiving people in our own country and we are extending hospitality that we are known for.”

Zimbabwe’s assumption of the regional body’s chairmanship during the summit, Amb Chimbindi said, was a major diplomatic win for the country and will help uplift the nation’s standing on the international scene.

“On the diplomatic front, this is a very important assignment,” he added.

“We will be, what I can say, first among equals because we will be chairing, coordinating and convening meetings across the board.

“Of course, this will be in coordination with the Secretariat and other members of the Troika.

“By virtue of being the chair, we will then be required to participate at the annual mid-year summit of the African Union (AU), because only the eight chairpersons of the regional economic communities that are recognised by the AU are invited to participate.

“In some instance, where the G20 meets, they also have an opportunity to invite the SADC chair.”

Hosting the summit, he added, had helped fast-track the Second Republic’s developmental agenda through accelerated infrastructure development, with ongoing developmental work set to continue after the summit.

“The Government of Zimbabwe has done all it can to ensure that we have a memorable SADC summit,” said Amb Chimbindi.

“Also remember that we hosted the SADC summit before in 2014 in Victoria Falls and it has been deemed as one of the best ever.

“And now we want to do better.”

The Government, he also said, had done “everything that can be done” to ensure that the summit is successful.

“Zimbabwe, under the Second Republic, has had a programme to rehabilitate the roads, especially those in the urban areas because of the neglect that they have been subjected to.

“So, what we are doing with the roads and the refurbishments that are going on is to develop our country and what the SADC summit has done is to help us accelerate the pace.

“Now, we have accelerated the pace to make sure we have a very welcoming environment for our guests.

“With regards to the roads, you can see that the improvements that have taken place . . . and you can actually marvel at them.”

He said the SADC Secretariat’s technical team that was in the country recently to assess Harare’s preparedness to host the summit was satisfied with all the preparations that have been made by the Government.

“I can inform you that we have had three visits from the SADC technical teams,” added Amb Chimbindi.

“They first came in February, then they came again in May and they did their third and final assessment visit from July 17 to 23.

“The first visit was to give us the details of the minimum requirement to host a successful summit.

“The second visit was to come and assess how far we had gone in putting the foundational arrangements for hosting the summit

“And the third and final visit was to see how ready we were.

“They were very satisfied with the arrangements that have been done.

“Actually, they were amazed at the pace at which we have progressed.

“You also remember that the SADC Executive Secretary (Elias Magosi) also paid us a visit around May.

“He had come to meet the President as incoming chair just to touch base and discuss what to expect at the time of the summit.”