Online Reporter
The Herald
13 February 1986
THE Government yesterday appealed to socialist countries to take part in the five-year national development plan expected to be launched soon.
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce, Cde Chimbidzai Sanyangare, told workshop in Harare that socialist countries had the necessary experience, technology and ideological framework that Zimbabwe could use in transforming the socio-economic system in her development process.
More than 70 trade experts taking part in the three-day workshop on Zimbabwe’s trade and economic relations with Eastern European countries.
Participants include representatives of Zimbabwe’s public and business sectors and trade officials and experts from Bulgaria. Czechoslovakia, Romania, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Soviet Union, ITC and ECA.
The workshop is organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in co-operation with the Government, the International Trade Centre, the Economic Commission for Africa and the Preferential Trade Area
They are reviewing the present state and prospects of Zimbabwe’s trade and economic relations with the East European socialist countries and identifying and discussing problems and possible solutions.
Other Issues being discussed include the role and activities of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), the East European economic grouping, and possible areas of trade co-operation with Zimbabwe. The workshop will provide an opportunity for bilateral and individual trade consultations.
Opening the workshop, the Minister of Trade and Commerce, Dr Oliver Munyaradzi, said Zimbabwe had signed trade agreements with all the socialist countries of Eastern Europe attending.
In a speech read by his deputy, Cde Sanyangare, he said about 18 separate barter and counter-trade deals had been concluded between Zimbabwe and most of the socialist countries represented at the workshop.
Lessons for today:
For Zimbabwe in 1986 a newly independent nation seeking industrialisation, market diversification, and development partners, inviting socialist countries to participate in a national development plan was a forward-looking and pragmatic initiative.
For a young nation seeking partners outside the Western sphere, Comecon provided a ready-made network of supportive, industrialised states with resources useful for national development planning.
Access to Technology and Development Expertise, Zimbabwe believed socialist countries possessed the experience, technology, and ideological framework needed to support its socio-economic transformation.
The Minister noted that Zimbabwe had signed trade agreements with all the socialist countries attending the workshop. this would formalise channels for trade, stable relationships with multiple Eastern European economies, entry into new markets beyond traditional Western partners.
Zimbabwe now had the ability to access goods without using scarce foreign currency, opportunities to exchange local products (e.g., agricultural or mineral exports) for machinery, industrial goods, or technology, a practical solution for a developing economy with limited forex reserves.
The workshop provided a platform for bilateral and individual trade consultations, allowing Zimbabwe to negotiate deals and strengthen existing agreements. It gained a space to negotiate better trade terms, tailored economic cooperation with each socialist partner and increased diplomatic and economic leverage.
