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Prosper Ndlovu and Africa Moyo in Dubai, the UAE
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is expected in the United Arab Emirates tomorrow and lead Zimbabwe National Day proceedings on Monday to mark the conclusion of the country’s participation in the Expo 2020 Dubai, which has attracted 192 countries.
A number of countries have already held their National Day proceedings while some more will hold theirs.
The President’s visit is expected to amplify investment and trade marketing efforts that have been driven by various companies and Government representatives since the start of the expo last October.
During the period, the Zimbabwe Pavilion has received increased visitor interest and business enquiries covering sectors such as mining, tourism, health, agriculture and infrastructure and Information Communication Technology.
Several of the expressions of interest are expected to be concluded into actionable business deals during engagements with President Mnangagwa, while more follow-ups are expected after the expo.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the UAE, Lovemore Mazemo, said the country made strong impact at the expo and commended ministries, agencies and private sector leaders for coming on board to market Zimbabwe to the world.
He said this has provoked a lot of potential investor interest, raising excitement ahead of the President’s visit.
“Everybody is looking forward to the arrival of His Excellency the President. We will have a business forum on the National Day and we expect a bumper attendance and I think we will seal some agreements there,” said Ambassador Mazemo.
“As the Government, as parastatals and as the private sector we will present ourselves to potential investors that will attend our event.
“We have a crop of projects that are fundable and bankable and we think we have found potential investors of substance and we also think from that we will have the birth of projects that will be developed to their maturity.”
Expo 2020 Dubai Zimbabwe Pavilion Commissioner General, Ambassador Mary Mubi, said preparations for the Monday event are on-going.
“As you know it’s a three-day event and part of the event is around the President visiting the country’s pavilion and the pavilion of the host nation, UAE,” she said.
“There will also be a Business Conference, which for us is an extremely important event because it’s the culmination of the conversations that started in various sector events.
“We will also have some engagement organised for the Diasporans and yes, it’s a fairly packed programme but we expect that there will be more positive outcomes.”
Ambassador Mubi said Expo 2020 Dubai had amplified the Zimbabwe brand in a big way and President Mnangagwa’s visit would underscore the need for continued business conversations beyond the expo.
“All the conversations we have had in the last six months will be amplified on that day. The National Day event will be an opportunity for His Excellency to visit the pavilion and be shown around as it will be his first time to visit the expo,” she said.
“There will be official parts of the National Day programme such as flag raising, having cultural group performances and speeches at the Al-Wasal Plaza, which is a pattern with all the nations and it will be a proud moment for Zimbabwe and the focus will be on Zimbabwe,” she said.
The event will be spiced up by artistic performances from Songs of Lozikeyi, a popular musical project featuring Bulawayo artistes, which has been curated to market brand Zimbabwe at the expo, as well as popular musician Jah Prayzah.
The all-female dance ensemble, Intombi Zomqangala led by Sandra Ndebele, is already in Dubai and has been delivering performances as part of the build up towards the National Day event.
Online Reporter