Bulawayo out to lure Belarus investors

BULAWAYO Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Judith Ncube will lead a delegation to showcase the city’s investment potential in Belarus later this month.

Minister Ncube and senior Bulawayo City Council (BCC) officials will tour the Eastern European country from May 24 to June 1 under the Black Horse Alley LLC Trade and Commerce umbrella.

Since the advent of the Second Republic, Zimbabwe and Belarus have strengthened their co-operation, focusing on economic diplomacy and exchanges in key sectors for economic growth and transformation.

The two countries are enhancing collaboration in areas such as mining, infrastructure development and science and innovation.

Trade between Belarus and Zimbabwe has grown significantly since 2018, with both nations working on long-term investment projects in agriculture, light industry, mining, healthcare and industrial co-operation.

The Belarus Mechanisation Facility has completed two phases, delivering over 2,000 units of various Belarusian agricultural machinery.

With close national bonds, Bulawayo aims to leverage these ties to explore potential areas of co-operation with Belarus

According to the latest council minutes, Minister Ncube wrote to the local authority notifying them about the invitation.

“My office, the Office of the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province has been invited to visit the Republic of Belarus under the Black Horse Alley LLC Trade and Commerce umbrella, from the 24th of May to 1 of June 2024. It is against this background that I hereby invite the Town Clerk and Director of Health Services to be part of the delegation that will represent Bulawayo Province on this official visit to the Republic of Belarus. All travelling costs will be borne by the participants,” wrote Minister Ncube.

The main purpose of the visit is to explore areas of possible co-operation through formal meetings with the National Agency of Investment and Privatisation of the Republic of Belarus and a wide sector of industries for commercial Trade and Joint implementation opportunities.

Added to that, site visits and inspections with enterprises in the fields of pharmaceutical medicines, animal health products, agricultural mechanisation equipment and technologies are lined up.

Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube told councillors that it is critical for the council to have representation as the platform was a valuable opportunity that would economically benefit the city and would help solidify the trade relationship with Belarus through promoting the importation and distribution of Belarusian products in Bulawayo.

The council resolved to have Mr Dube and the Director of Health Services, Dr Edwin Sibanda Mzingwane, as representatives of the city.

Late last year, Minister Ncube led a city business delegation to the 26th Arab-African Investment and International Co-operation Conference in Egypt to attract international investors to the city.

The transformation of Bulawayo’s economy is crucial for the overall development of Zimbabwe as outlined in the National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025), which aims to progress towards achieving an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

The Bulawayo Metropolitan Provincial Economic Development Plan (PEDP) is based on the national development blueprint and aims to leverage key comparative advantages that position the city for significant investment opportunities, particularly in manufacturing-related sectors.

Formerly a thriving industrial hub of Zimbabwe with robust infrastructure in industries like textile, leather, meat processing, pharmaceuticals and cement products, among others, Bulawayo is now focused on reviving its past prosperity.

In collaboration with the Government in the Second Republic, the city is seizing every opportunity to establish itself as the premier investment and industrial centre, emphasising expanding production, creating more job opportunities and increasing export revenues.