Vusumuzi Dube
Vusumuzi Dube
Online News Editor
THE Middle East has a vast array of potential export opportunities for Zimbabweans with the country now in an advanced stage of opening a consulate in Saudi Arabia.
The consulate is expected to open an intelligence and research office whose sole responsibility will be to gather data that will be used to guide Zimbabwe’s export policy into Saudi Arabia.
In an interview on the sidelines of the just ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF),
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to the Middle East, who is also the Chief Advisor to the President on Middle East affairs, Ambassador Mahomed Jassat said there was growing interest in cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hence President Mnangagwa’s decision to appoint him to oversee engagements with the Middle East.
He said his main call of duty was to attract investment into Zimbabwe, mainly in the areas of mining, agriculture and renewable energy. Amb Jassat was appointed in January.
“I was appointed by the President His Excellency on 17 January 2023 and my main role is to attract investment and showcase Zimbabwe opportunities to my colleagues in the Middle East and the Muslim world.
“Apart from attracting investment, I’m also into helping with consulate affairs in Dubai and also establishing a consulate in Saudi Arabia as Saudi Arabia is now becoming a force and Zimbabwe wants to obviously do business with the Saudis. They are keen to start investing in Zimbabwe and we feel that it’s best that once we establish a consulate in the Kingdom it will enhance the relationship between Zimbabwe and the Kingdom,” said Amb Jassat.
He said in terms of exports, the Middle East presented a lot of opportunities that can easily be exploited by Zimbabweans.
“Because the Middle East has got a vast ray, they are duty-free countries and they have a lot of nationals from different places, there is an opportunity to do all kinds of business but mainly related with international trade. There is potential to trade into the Middle East from Zimbabwe for example there are a lot of opportunities for exports of agricultural and horticulture products. There are also opportunities for us to export minerals into the Middle East and also any product that can be manufactured in Zimbabwe,” he said.
The ambassador also revealed that there is a good market for teak flooring, teak decking, teak furniture, and handicrafts.
“So as to further boost our exports into the Middle East, we are establishing an office in Dubai which will be an intelligence and research office for agriculture, so if for example, a farmer wants to export their products will get intelligence from the Dubai office on what products are required, we will then pass that information to an aggregation centre in Zimbabwe where the orders will be passed through to the farmers,” said Amb Jassat.
The ambassador said his goal was to lobby governments in the Middle East to come and invest in the country on a government-to-government basis, revealing that with the diplomatic engagements he had done since his appointment, there was a lot of promise.
“There is a lot of interest into Zimbabwe, mainly because the country is rich in natural resources, the main thrust at the moment is in three areas; in agriculture, because in the Middle East, they are looking for food security, they are also looking for minerals so things like lithium, copper, iron, nickel, and chrome there is a high demand for these products in the Middle East. There are people wanting to come and invest in terms of farming and mining themselves or doing joint ventures with companies in Zimbabwe,” said Amb Jassat.
The Second Republic under the leadership of President Mnangagwa came up with the re-engagement drive which continues to open new frontiers around the world.
Online Reporter