Online Reporter
We reproduce in full President Mnangagwa’s speech at the Osaka 2025 Expo, Zimbabwe National Day official ceremony yesterday.
May I begin by extending congratulations to government of Japan for hosting this high-profile exposition that has brought together various countries of the world, towards “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”.
We thank the government of Japan and the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, for inviting Zimbabwe to be a part of this world showcase.
Their unwavering support and outstanding assistance along with that from the Expo-Organisers has been invaluable to our exhibition, being held under the theme “Beyond the Limits: Experience Zimbabwe; Opportunities; and our Future”.
The exceptional coordination, professionalism and creativity played a pivotal role in Zimbabwe’s successful participation.
At the sidelines of this exhibition, Zimbabwe hosted a very fruitful inaugural Zimbabwe-Japan Business Forum.
I thank the Japan International Cooperation Agency for partnering us on that initiative.
The Business Forum created a conducive space for us to share the available business and investment opportunities which Japanese companies can leverage on.
It is my sincere hope that the engagements and candid dialogue that our business sector had with Japanese companies will elevate our trade and economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of our two countries.
We applaud these developments and look forward to continued collaboration with Japan in our future endeavours.
We are, also, grateful for the warm and friendly hospitality that we have received since our arrival in this beautiful city of Osaka.
I am informed that Osaka is the culinary hub of Japan and often referred to as the “nation’s kitchen”.
I look forward to enjoying some of your world renowned dishes such as oko-no-miya-ki and toko-yaki, among others.
Distinguished guests,
Today is a special day.
As your host, it is with great honour, that I welcome you to Zimbabwe’s National Day Celebrations at Exposition 2025 Osaka.
Since the opening of the Expo in April 2025, Japan and the world at large, have had the opportunity to experience Zimbabwe and catch a glimpse of the nation’s heritage, its rich diversity, tourist attractions, culture and pristine flora and fauna.
Among the assortment of tourist attractions is the world-famous, mighty and majestic Victoria Falls, locally known as Mosi oa Tunya, “The smoke that thunders”.
This is also a World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Our country Zimbabwe boasts of an impressive concentration of wildlife, as a result of Government’s robust conservation efforts.
Our national parks and safaris, which constitute about 70 percent of the total land area are home to over 270 mammal species, 670 bird species and 256 reptile species, among others.
The “Big Five”, namely the elephants, rhinos, lions, buffaloes and leopards are in abundance, roaming safely in the wild.
Worth noting is the elephant population which is the second largest in the world at over 82 000, while that of our rhino is in fourth and exceeds 1 000.
Japan remains a dependable market source for Zimbabwe’s tourism sector.
Following this Expo 2025 Osaka, we are, thus, confident that the number of tourist arrival will and surpass continue to increase pre-Covid-19 figures.
We are ready to welcome, you, your families and friends, to Zimbabwe for a lifetime experience.
Distinguished guests;
Zimbabwe is on course towards the realisation of our Vision to be a Prosperous and Empowered Upper Middle-Income Society by 2030.
Our economic blueprint, the National Development Strategy is bold, responsive, people-centred and transformative.
The multi-pronged policy reforms adopted by my Government have seen our economy being among the fastest growing, in the Southern Africa region, with this year’s GDP growth expected to be around 6 percent.
Infrastructure rehabilitating and modernisation presents immense possibilities for investment from Japanese partners.
These relate to transport networks, along with other key enablers in the energy sector, renewables, ICT, water and sanitation.
The support towards the North-South Corridor Road Phases 1 and 2 will aid in the achievement of transport connectivity within the SADC region.
More opportunities exist for partnerships and investments in infrastructure development.
The MOU signed at the sidelines of this Expo, in relation to the motor industry, has potential to boost the public transport sector not only in Zimbabwe but the region as a whole.
Leveraging on the renowned expertise of Japan in innovation, science and technology, Zimbabwe is ready to partner and welcome investors from Japan to accelerate our industrialisation and modernisation agenda.
We have a rich and diverse resource endowment in the mining sector which presents a highly prospective geological environment, comparable to that of major mining jurisdictions.
Major occurrences are in precious metals and stones, base metals, hydro-carbons and industrial minerals, among others.
Focus is now on value addition and beneficiation through the establishment of the requisite industrial base and manufacturing concerns.
The ongoing quest to build greater climate change resilience and adaption in agriculture, stand to benefit from stronger Zimbabwe-Japan cooperation.
Construction of dams is continuing, with investments required for water conveyancing and agriculture mechanisation towards increasing the total land area under irrigation.
To date, the Nyakomba Irrigation Scheme, supported by Japan, has helped to lift the quality of life of many women and youth among rural and small holder farmers.
The income-generating horticultural activities from this project are improving, household food security, incomes and community welfare.
From the Government side, the number of irrigation schemes for communal and small holder farmers is ever-increasing.
We look forward to increased cooperation to broaden these key developments.
Ladies and gentlemen;
Strong partnerships thrive not only on shared goals, but connections.
The humanitarian support availed by Japan during seasons of national disasters, mainly resulting from climate change is always appreciated by the people of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe like the rest of Africa has a growing youth population, it is a “youthful nation”, with over 60 percent of its population under the age of 30 years.
This makes our country a strategic asset, in human capital, ready to be capacitated in terms of skills, employment and empowerment.
So far, Japanese footprint is evident in our human capital development endeavours in respect to science, technology and engineering fields.
Riding on Japan’s strength and the educational aptitude of Zimbabwe’s youthful population; there is room to scale up partnerships around emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Robotics and Automation.
Further, the optimisation of technology should be heightened to enable our youth to develop Fintech, Edu-Tech, among other ICT-based specialisations and start-ups that redefine the African innovation space.
Meanwhile, the excellent framework of the Zimbabwe-Japan Cooperation has seen us develop and launch ZimSat-1 and 2, into orbit.
Distinguished guests;
In concluding, may I state that the next chapter of Zimbabwe’s developmental and industrialisation story is both inspirational and transformational.
We invite the people of Japan, along with other global partners, investors and friends, to help us add the fine print to our broad investment canvass, towards shared prosperity for our respective countries and peoples.
The message is clear: Zimbabwe is open for business; open to investment; open to trade; open to innovation; open to tourism and partnerships which are beyond limits.
Visit and invest in Zimbabwe; “a world of wonder” and unmatched possibilities, for both the present, as well as the future we are building together; No one and no country must be left behind.
I thank you all for attending our National Day.
I thank you.
