Online Reporter
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Professor Among Murwira has said the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) should not be viewed as just a promotional event but a crucial strategic diplomatic avenue for forging industrial partnerships and cementing long term co-operation.
In his presentation on the topic: “The Role of Diplomacy in Africa’s Industrialisation” at the Connect Africa Symposium which was held during the just ended ZITF, Professor Murwira underscored the importance of strategic diplomatic efforts in achieving the continent’s economic goals.
He said platforms such as ZITF therefore play a critical role in promoting long term industrial partnerships. “Lets view events like ZITF not merely as promotional events but as strategic diplomatic avenues where industrial partnerships are forged and long-term co-operation cemented,” he said.
Prof Murwira said the ZITF is more than a marketplace as it is an instrument of economic diplomacy feeding into the broader vision of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He said ZITF offers a platform for Africa to showcase its capabilities, attract capital, deepen bilateral and multilateral ties and reinforce international co-operation.
Minister Murwira said diplomacy plays a crucial role in fostering the good relations and conducive international environment necessary for Africa’s industrialisation and economic integration. He said a trade-connected Africa is essential for unlocking opportunities in both goods and services ultimately leading to greater productivity and prosperity.
“We are living in an interconnected world whose architecture is such that Africa is trading more with the rest of the world and less with itself. Intra-African trade remains one of the continent’s major opportunities but it accounts for only 16 percent of the total trade. Over 50 percent of the continent’s imports and exports are tied to economies outside Africa,” said Prof Murwira. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo who officially opened this year’s edition of the ZITF also bemoaned the low intra-African trade saying trade relations and investments between African countries are still incipient.
Minister Murwira said AfCFTA is the platform which Africa should use to reduce dependence on unfavourable global markets and enhance resilience through intra-Africa trade.
The challenge to African countries is therefore to promote trade between themselves and reduce dependence on global markets taking advantage of the continent’s abundant natural resources like minerals.
African countries gain more by trading among themselves and what is crucial is for the countries to invest in value addition and reduce raw material exports.
The intra-Africa trade should be more of finished products and services as opposed to raw materials so that countries benefit more from their natural resources.
We want at this juncture to implore African countries to work on changing the obtaining situation whereby more than 50 percent of the continent’s imports and exports are tied to economies outside Africa.
