Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
THE National Assembly has ratified the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement that Zimbabwe entered into with Belarus in 2023, as relations between the two countries continue to grow.
The ratification coincided with President Mnangagwa’s State visit to Belarus.
In her presentation of the BIPPA, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Sheilla Chikomo said the country stood to immensely benefit from ratifying the BIPPA.
“I understand that there will be increased investor confidence if we sign this particular memorandum. One of the main goals of a BIPPA is to create a more secure and predictable investment climate. By signing this BIPPA document with Belarus, allow me to state that Zimbabwe sends a clear signal to international investors that the country is committed to protecting foreign investments.
“Secondly, there is also diversification of investment sources.
“The BIPPA opens up new channels of investment from Belarus and potentially from other countries that may be encouraged by this agreement and of course, the technological transfer,” she said. Deputy Minister Chikomo added that the BIPPA cuts across various sectors of the economy and would result in job creation through tapping into Belarus expertise.
“It is very key for us to look into the importance of how this particular memorandum will assist Zimbabwe to get into that upper middle-income country by 2030. Allow me to also mention the green investment.
“Belarus has significant expertise, as I said earlier, in renewable energy, including solar, wind and hydropower. This documentation, as we are about to sign it, could provide encouragement in these particular areas, which are essential for a long-term development. So, this is not a short-term development.
“It is a long-term development. We hope that the august House will look into this with more positivity as it is important to us,” the Deputy Minister added.
Among other provisions, the BIPPA provides that the contracting parties shall promote the development of economic cooperation between their nationals through the encouragement of investments made by those nationals in the territory of either contracting party.
In addition, it also provides for the admission within the framework of the contracting parties laws and regulations, the participation of their nationals through investments in the establishment and operation of the productive activities in each territory which contribute towards the improvement of the standard of living of their people and the prosperity of their country.
The host contracting party shall accord investments by investors of the other contracting party protections and security no less favourable than it accords to investments of its own.
