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Herald Reporter
Senior Government officials led by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava are having key engagements in Nairobi, Kenya under the third session of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC).
Addressing the senior officials meeting in Nairobi yesterday, Ambassador Shava said the third session of the JPCC between the two republics was being held at a time President Mnangagwa was due to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta in the Kenyan capital.
“It is, therefore, imperative that our meeting today should come up with smart decisions that we will brief our principals on tomorrow.
“In this regard, I wish to note that Zimbabwe and Kenya enjoy excellent bilateral relations, anchored on our shared history, people to people relations and our close cooperation under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, (COMESA),” said Minister Shava.
He said the two countries enjoyed excellent bilateral air services with Kenya Airways flying several times a week to Harare before the restrictions occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister Shava said the courier’s route to Victoria Falls offers increased connectivity, flexibility and convenience to travellers, as well as boosting the tourism sector in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region.
“The close collaboration in the air transport sector was also a boon for the tourism sectors of our two countries.”
He said negotiations on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that covered tourism and wildlife issues had been concluded and they were looking forward to the MoU being signed today in the presence of the two Presidents.
“There is great scope for cooperation in this field through joint marketing of tourism products and packages. Our two countries share two of the seven natural wonders of the world in Victoria Falls and Masaai Mara.
“It is only logical that we closely work together in this area to benefit our communities. In addition, Zimbabwe and Kenya are blessed with many species of wildlife which are a source of attraction to the tourism industry. We should, therefore, not tire in our efforts to derive maximum benefits in this area.”
Minister Shava urged speeding up a number of pending instruments in the economic sector to boost the two countries’ activities in trade issues.
“Zimbabwe and Kenya share common membership in COMESA, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and should make use of these regional and continental trade arrangements to improve bilateral trade. I have been informed that some Zimbabwean companies such as Liquid Telecoms (Pvt) and Innscor have managed to set up shop in Kenya. We should work together to encourage this mutual investment and in this regard, I call on Kenyan companies to consider investing in Zimbabwe.”
Minister Shava said cooperation in health matters had become more urgent with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the threat of future pandemics.
He said the pandemic had brought to the fore, the weakness in our health systems and Africa’s over-dependence on imported medicines and vaccines.
“We need to come together and develop local pharmaceutical industries.”
In the area of defence cooperation he said Zimbabwe was pleased with the level of cooperation that had seen the placement of students in defence colleges of the two countries.
Minister Shava commended the strategic partnership and encouraged such good work to continue well into the future.
“In the diplomatic sphere, I would like to thank Kenya for proposing a draft MoU on Political and Diplomatic Consultations.
“I am delighted that we have concluded negotiations on this MoU and it is one of those that will be signed during this Session of our Joint Commission,” said Minister Shava.
Online Reporter