Online Reporter
Gibson Mhaka
Zimpapers Politics Hub
ZIMBABWE’s forthcoming assumption of the chairmanship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa provides a timely platform for the country to give greater economic substance to its foreign policy under the Second Republic.
When Zimbabwe hosts the 25th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit in October, the regional bloc’s theme, “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA,” will resonate strongly with President Mnangagwa’s broader diplomatic trajectory anchored on the principle of “a friend to all and an enemy to none.”
Far from being merely a diplomatic slogan, the principle has increasingly become a defining feature of Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement policy, with the Second Republic seeking to rebuild relations with the international community while opening new avenues for trade, investment, technology transfer and economic cooperation.
The COMESA theme fits neatly into that trajectory because it recognises a fundamental reality of modern international relations: political friendship must increasingly translate into practical economic partnerships.
For Zimbabwe, this is particularly important as the country pursues the ambitious objective of becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
Vision 2030 cannot be achieved in isolation. It requires Zimbabwe to be firmly plugged into regional and global markets, attract investment, expand industrial capacity, strengthen exports and build partnerships capable of accelerating economic transformation.
In this context, the COMESA chairmanship is more than a ceremonial regional responsibility.
It is an opportunity for Zimbabwe to place economic diplomacy at the centre of its regional leadership and demonstrate how the country’s foreign policy can contribute directly to national development.
President Mnangagwa has consistently maintained that Zimbabwe seeks friendship and mutually beneficial relations with all countries.
In a world characterised by competing geopolitical interests, economic uncertainty and shifting alliances, countries can ill afford to limit themselves to one political or economic sphere.
Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement drive is, therefore, premised on the understanding that the country must cultivate relationships wherever there are opportunities for cooperation.
The objective is not simply to make friends for the sake of diplomatic protocol.
It is to create an environment in which political goodwill can facilitate investment, trade, tourism, infrastructure development, technology transfer and access to international markets.
This is where the words “One Market, One Future” acquire deeper meaning.
COMESA’s vision of a more integrated market complements Zimbabwe’s own need to expand beyond the limitations of its domestic market.
For a country seeking to industrialise, a larger regional market is essential.
Industries require consumers, investment and economies of scale.
A manufacturer producing exclusively for a relatively small domestic market may struggle to achieve the scale necessary to compete internationally. But access to the wider COMESA market creates possibilities for increased production, exports and employment.
Regional integration can, therefore, become an important catalyst for Zimbabwe’s industrialisation agenda.
The same applies to investment.
Zimbabwe needs significant capital to develop infrastructure, modernise industries, expand energy generation, increase agricultural production and strengthen value addition and beneficiation.
The engagement and re-engagement policy provides the diplomatic platform for attracting such investment.
The COMESA chairmanship provides an additional economic platform from which Zimbabwe can market its investment opportunities and encourage regional investors to view the country not merely as a national market, but as a potential gateway into a wider regional economy.
This is one of the strongest connections between COMESA and Vision 2030.
An upper-middle-income Zimbabwe will require an economy that is productive, diversified and outward-looking.
It will need companies that can compete beyond national borders, industries integrated into regional value chains and an investment environment that inspires confidence.
The COMESA theme speaks directly to each of these requirements.
Inclusive industrialisation is particularly significant.
Zimbabwe’s economic transformation cannot simply be about increasing production figures.
Industrialisation must generate employment, expand opportunities for entrepreneurs, support small and medium enterprises and ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach ordinary citizens.
The word “inclusive” therefore, matters.
It recognises that economic development must translate into improved livelihoods.
The same philosophy underpins regional integration.
Integration should not be an elite exercise confined to heads of State, diplomats and business executives.
It must ultimately make it easier for farmers to sell their produce, manufacturers to access regional markets, transporters to move goods and ordinary citizens to benefit from greater economic opportunities.
This is why reducing trade barriers must remain central to Zimbabwe’s approach to COMESA.
Tariff and non-tariff barriers, cumbersome border procedures and inadequate infrastructure can undermine the very regional integration that African countries have spent decades trying to build.
Zimbabwe’s chairmanship, therefore, provides an opportunity to push for practical reforms that make the movement of goods, services, capital and people easier.
Such reforms would also reinforce the country’s engagement and re-engagement agenda.
Diplomacy becomes meaningful when relationships produce tangible benefits.
A country may establish excellent political relations with another State, but the relationship becomes even more valuable when it results in investment, expanded trade, new industries or cooperation in areas such as energy, agriculture and infrastructure.
This is the essence of the “win-win” approach repeatedly emphasised by President Mnangagwa.
The COMESA summit consequently offers Zimbabwe an opportunity to demonstrate that its foreign policy is increasingly being driven by economic interests without abandoning its principles.
The timing is particularly significant.
Zimbabwe will assume the COMESA chairmanship shortly after President Mnangagwa’s tenure as chairperson of the Southern African Development Community.
But Zimbabwe’s role should not be limited to benefiting from the bloc.
As chair, the country has a responsibility to help advance the collective interests of member States.
This is where seasoned diplomacy will be required.
Zimbabwe will have to build consensus around sometimes competing national interests while pushing forward the broader objectives of industrialisation, investment and integration.
The forthcoming summit should therefore be approached as a working summit rather than simply another diplomatic gathering.
Agriculture, mining, manufacturing, energy, tourism and infrastructure all provide potential areas for regional cooperation.
The country’s diplomatic shift under the Second Republic is already creating a broader platform for such engagement.
On the multilateral stage, President Mnangagwa has reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s commitment to the principles of the United Nations and secured support for the country’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2027-2028 term.
That ambition is significant because it demonstrates that Zimbabwe’s foreign policy is not confined to the immediate region.
The country is seeking a meaningful voice at regional, continental and global levels.
The COMESA chairmanship can therefore be seen as part of a broader diplomatic architecture.
At the regional level, Zimbabwe has played a prominent role through SADC.
At the COMESA level, it will assume another leadership responsibility.
At the continental level, it continues to participate in the African union and support continental integration initiatives.
At the multilateral level, it is seeking greater representation within the United Nations system.
Taken together, these engagements demonstrate a country seeking to reposition itself within the international community.
But diplomacy must ultimately deliver for the people.
That is the standard against which Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement policy should increasingly be judged.
If improved relations attract investment, create employment, open markets and strengthen industrial capacity, then diplomacy becomes a direct instrument of development.
If regional integration allows Zimbabwean products to reach new markets and enables the country to participate more effectively in regional value chains, then COMESA becomes an important vehicle for Vision 2030.
