NYUSI CONCERNED AT LOW LEVEL OF TRADE BETWEEN MOZAMBIQUE AND ZIMBABWE

Nyusi was speaking, on Tuesday, in Harare, at the opening ceremony of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS), in which he participated as a guest of honor at the invitation of his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

According to the President, today’s reality reflects a rather weak economic relationship between Mozambique and Zimbabwe, since from 2018 to the first half of 2024, Mozambique’s exports to Zimbabwe totaled just 890 million dollars and imports of around 161 million dollars. This is less than three per cent of the volume of Mozambique’s foreign transactions.

Mozambique’s exports to Zimbabwe include electricity (mostly from the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi river), mineral or chemical fertilizers, aluminium wire, and petroleum oils or bituminous minerals.

With regard to Zimbabwean investment approved in Mozambique, over the last 10 years, the total is only 46 projects, valued at 151 million dollars, broken down into the industrial sector with 32%, aquaculture and fisheries (26%), tourism (20%), agriculture and livestock (12%).

“It is easy to conclude that bilateral trade and investment flows fall short of the synergistic potential of our countries in the face of the world’s vast consumer market. For this reason, it is urgent to reverse this situation and one of the immediate measures is the presence of Mozambique at the Fair”, he said.

“We invite all entrepreneurs attending this Fair to use the opportunity as a unique platform for identifying attractive and viable business opportunities”, he added.

According to Nyusi, both countries must continue to co-operate, “moving freely and together producing wealth for the well-being of their peoples.”

With the will to mobilize investment, and not only in agriculture, Mozambique and Zimbabwe intend to stimulate their trade relations through the use of existing infrastructures and logistics.

During the event, Nyusi visited the various pavilions at length, where he also had the opportunity to interact with the various exhibitors. The visit ended with the Mozambican statesman taking part in the presentation of awards in the various categories.

Occupying an area of 76,000 square meters, the Fair is home to around 560 exhibitors from various sectors of the Zimbabwean economy.

11 countries are taking part in the event, including Mozambique, South Africa, China, Eswatini, India, Japan, Malawi, Pakistan, Russia, Tanzania and Zambia.arket”, he said, during a seminar aimed at reflecting on the impact of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the energy sector, at Facim-2024.

For his turn, the National Director of Electrification Strategies, António Nhassengo, said that the company has been investing in PPPs since 2011, after experiencing a major shortfall in the production, transport and supply of energy in the country and the region.

He cited several PPP projects that have involved EDM. “The company has invested 800 million dollars in these projects since 2011. With these projects, as well as guaranteeing domestic supply, the company has had surpluses that are exported for sale in different countries in the southern region”, he said.

This is at best disingenuous, since the largest producer and exporter of electricity is not EDM, but a completely separate public company, Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), which operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi river, in Tete province.