Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
Zimbabwe and the European Union marked a historic milestone yesterday with the official launch of the inaugural EU–Zimbabwe Business Forum in Harare, an event poised to reshape trade and investment dynamics between the two partners.
Hosted at a hotel in Harare, the three-day forum, themed “Unlocking Trade and Investment under the Global Gateway Initiative,” has attracted over 300 participants, including business executives, investors, policymakers, and entrepreneurs from across Zimbabwe and 12 EU Member States. EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe Jobst von Kirchmann described the forum as the product of an ambitious vision conceived just one year ago.
“When we looked at the positive development of trade and investment with the EU over the last few years, we felt that the time was ripe to bring EU companies to Zimbabwe,” he said.
Trade between Zimbabwe and the EU has increased by 30 percent in the past three years, reaching US$880 million, while EU foreign direct investment has nearly doubled to US$870 million, driven largely by the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
