India-Africa indaba opens

investors expressed a keen interest in infrastructure development, agriculture, mining and ICT.
They, however, said they were keen to invest in projects that have a regional integration outlook as it enables them to increase their exposure to different African countries.
Responding to the issues raised,  Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara said Zimbabwe with a population of 14 million was a potential gateway for investors to the Sadc and Comesa markets that have populations of 250 million and 400 million respectively.
“So when you come to Zimbabwe you are not just investing in one country but the Sadc and Comesa region and ultimately Africa.
“By coming to India we are trying to tap into a market of 1,2 billion people, which is like a continent itself, so we want to ensure that you also have access to a market of similar magnitude,” he said.
He said India’s co-operation with Africa was guided by the philosophy of partnerships with equality that enables Africans to find their footing in the new economic dispensation.
Professor Mutambara said the main focus of Government was to increase value addition in the country through the acquisition of plant and machinery.
“We are sick and tired of churning out our raw materials, we want to move up the value chain through the beneficiation of our raw materials,” he said.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi said that there were five distinct reasons why Indians should invest in Zimbabwe.
These included the fact that Zimbabwe has a mature democracy that has seen it holding six elections consistently since 1980.
He added that the country was almost a crime-free and peaceful nation as evidenced by the removal of travel warnings by most European nations.
In addition, he said as a country, Zimbabwe was reviewing its immigration formalities including the visa regime to make it more friendly and responsive to BRICS countries with offers to upgrade them to Category B and A.
“Within these countries and many others friendly to us immigration attaches shall be posted to facilitate application and processing of visas prior to departure and on entry.
“Much depends, of course, on how you lobby your own countries to allow travel without documentation as is the case with traditional European source markets covered this way,” he said.
Minister of State in Vice President Joice Mujuru’s Office Sylvester Nguni outlined the opportunities that exist in agriculture, infrastructure, ICT, health and education.
Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Dr Samuel Undenge outlined the objectives of the Medium-Term Plan which included to aid the economic turnaround process of the country. He said the key underlying factor that guarantees the success of the MTP was to ensure that there is value addition and that the country’s infrastructure is attended to as quickly as possible. “The bottom line is that we need to modernise our economy through the use of appropriate technology,” he said.