adminNduduzo Tshuma in Jo’burg, South Africa
Zimbabwe’s Look East policy has been vindicated as the entire African continent is benefitting from the successful hosting of the summit on the Forum on China Africa Cooperation that ends here today, a diplomat said yesterday.
Zimbabwe Ambassador to China Paul Chikava, speaking on the sidelines of the summit, said, “Our President has been vindicated because 15 years ago when he told us that East was where life was, we doubted him but look here we’ve just been visited two days ago, our two leaders had very fruitful discussions, we’re now in South Africa and the whole of Africa and the Chinese including our own President who is playing a very important role in the sealing of these mega deals.”
Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe joined his South African and Chinese counterparts Jacob Zuma and Xi Jinping in officially opening the China Africa Equipment Manufacturing Industry Exhibition.
The exhibition was part of a FOCAC Business Forum hosted by the South African Department of Trade and Industry and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
The leaders were then taken on a guided tour of the exhibition where various products and equipment were being showcased.
After the tour, President Mugabe said the exhibition reinforces the ethos of industrialisation, which is the focus at Sadc, Comesa-EAC-Sadc Tripartite and continental levels.
“It’s also impressive and encouraging to note that member states have been developing their own industrialisation policies linked and aligned to the strategies and roadmaps of regional economic communities and the African Union’s Agenda 2063,” said President Mugabe.
“What we’ve seen is a clear testimony of the tremendous efforts towards prioritising value addition and beneficiation of our natural resources and agricultural products.
“Such efforts are aimed at boosting intra-African trade as well as trade with other countries within the South-South and North-South.”
President Mugabe emphasised the need to complement industry with trade.
He said the continent looked forward to cooperating with China and at the same time seek to improve the quality of its processed products.
“Africa and China need to work together to ensure that road, rail, air, power and water infrastructures are put in place.
“In addition, equipment and appropriate technology offered by the Chinese will help us extract and process our abundant resources to the required specifications which meet international standards,” said President Mugabe.
He said he was happy that China is already demonstrating its commitment to helping Africa achieve these objectives through its Three Networks and Industrialisation initiative.
President Mugabe called on African and Chinese governments to create enabling environments which promote networking, exchange of ideas and making of tangible deals to contribute towards boosting trade in a mutually beneficial manner.
The President is accompanied to the summit by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.
Online Reporter