Online Reporter
Nduduzo Tshuma in Pretoria, South Africa
ZIMBABWE’S economic diplomacy under the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa has translated into stronger trade flows, improved connectivity and expanding opportunities for businesses, with the country’s engagement with South Africa providing a notable example of the strategy in practice.
The Fourth Session of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC), which began here on Tuesday, is placing economic cooperation at the centre of efforts to deepen bilateral relations, with the two countries prioritising high-impact projects to improve the movement of goods, services and people while driving investment and regional integration.
The four-day process will culminate in a Heads of State summit between President Mnangagwa, expected to arrive here today, and his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa,who will review existing bilateral commitments and witness the signing of new agreements and memoranda of understanding tomorrow.
A Zimbabwe-South Africa Business Forum, to be held on the sidelines of the BNC, will bring the private sector into the process.
ZimTrade, the country’s trade development and promotion organisation, is coordinating Zimbabwe’s participation at the Business Forum alongside its South African counterparts.
The forum is expected to turn political commitments into commercial opportunities, particularly in trade facilitation, transport and logistics, manufacturing, investment, industrial cooperation and regional value chains.
In an interview here yesterday, ZimTrade chief executive officer Mr Allan Majuru said the private-sector engagement demonstrates the practical side of economic diplomacy, ensuring that agreements reached at government level translate into business.
“The BNC is there to talk about policy issues and also to create a platform for business to then take advantage of what’s happening there,” Mr Majuru said.
“So, the Business Forum is going to tackle the technical issues that are affecting trade and investment among others so that we make sure that what is discussed on the BNC also materialises as business during the Business Forum.”
The approach comes as Zimbabwe and South Africa seek to concentrate on high-impact projects that can produce tangible economic benefits.
Among the projects under discussion is the proposed third bridge across the Limpopo River, which Zimbabwe wants developed into a one-stop border post to ease congestion and facilitate the movement of goods and people along the North-South Corridor.
The project is expected to have significance beyond the two countries, given the strategic role of the corridor in linking several Southern African economies.
Mr Majuru said infrastructure development is already demonstrating its value in Zimbabwe’s trade performance, citing the upgraded Beitbridge border post and road infrastructure as examples of interventions that have supported economic activity.
“I think the infrastructure development that happened there has facilitated a lot of movement of goods and services,” he said.
Mr Majuru also pointed to improvements in the ease of doing business, including the reduction of licences and levies, as measures that have helped businesses move goods and services more efficiently.
“If I can take you back mainly looking at trade in 2021, if I’m not mistaken our exports were around US$4,1 billion. Now looking at last year we are about US$9,7 billion,” he said.
“You can only measure the impact of policy by looking at the numbers, so it means a lot of work has been done for us to get to that.”
Mr Majuru said the increase in trade receipts indicates the economic transformation the Government is seeking to achieve through its economic diplomacy agenda.
South Africa remains central to that strategy, ranking among Zimbabwe’s most important trading partners and also serving as a critical gateway to international markets through the ports of Durban and Cape Town.
Mr Majuru said Zimbabwe’s exports to South Africa stood at about US$2,2 billion, against imports of approximately US$3,8 billion adding that the composition of those imports was also encouraging, particularly as Zimbabwe pursues industrialisation.
“Our imports were mainly machinery and equipment, not trinkets, so that is very good,” he said.
The increased flow of capital equipment is consistent with efforts to expand productive capacity, while creating scope for deeper industrial linkages between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Mr Majuru said the Business Forum will therefore seek to identify opportunities that can take this relationship to another level.
More than 70 Zimbabwean companies are expected to participate, representing sectors including leather, agriculture, logistics and services.
Mr Majuru said the emphasis would be on matchmaking and tangible commercial outcomes rather than dialogue for its own sake.
“The whole idea is to make sure that there is matchmaking when we do business,” he said.
“We need to exchange notes and make sure that this Business Forum does not just end as a talk show, but rather we have got tangibles that we come out with.”
The forum will also examine practical barriers to trade, including cross-border movement, transport infrastructure and the time taken to move goods, while exploring opportunities in special economic zones, manufacturing and regional value-chain development.
Mr Majuru said Zimbabwe and South Africa should increasingly complement each other by focusing on their respective comparative advantages.
“We want to go through a process of regional value chain integration whereby Zimbabwe has got a comparative advantage in a certain area. They focus on that, even South Africa have got a certain advantage in a certain area,” he said.
“We don’t want a situation whereby we compete but we cooperate so that we conquer the African market.”
South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, said the Business Forum will provide a platform for government and the private sector to develop practical measures to increase bilateral trade, facilitate investment and strengthen industrial cooperation.
The BNC’s economic agenda is also being supported by broader cooperation in infrastructure, energy and water, with Zimbabwe exploring opportunities to supply water to South Africa’s Limpopo Province and other neighbouring provinces.
The strategy reflects the Second Republic’s emphasis on economic diplomacy and a “Neighbourhood First Principle”, under which deeper relations with neighbouring countries are viewed as a foundation for wider regional and continental economic engagement.
Mr Majuru said the Government’s policy interventions were creating the conditions for businesses to exploit these opportunities.
“The issue of economic diplomacy is quite key for us to achieve a growth in trade and investment,” he said.
Mr Majuru said improvements in infrastructure, border facilities and the ease of doing business were helping Zimbabwean products reach regional markets at more competitive prices.
The progression from senior officials’ meetings to the ministerial session today and tomorrow’s Heads of State summit is expected to provide political direction, while the Business Forum will give companies an opportunity to turn that direction into commercial activity.
“So you see the mantra of economic diplomacy is at play,” Mr Majuru said.
