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Prosper Ndlovu in Gaborone, Botswana
THE growing participation of the Zimbabwean private sector in global business and trade exhibitions is contributing immensely to the country’s economic diplomacy thrust, which is critical in attracting fresh investments and transforming the economy, a senior Government official has said.
Although the country boasts of vast investment opportunities in different sectors of the economy, it has over the years suffered from negative perception linked to the continued imposition of illegal Western sanctions and the associated adverse country risk profiling.
In line with the Second Republic’s Engagement and Re-Engagement policy, Zimbabwe has adopted an economic diplomacy stance, which seeks to harness positive international relations outcomes to steer national economic growth.
This has seen the Government and the private sector scaling up trade and investment campaigns across the region and beyond.
This week ZimTrade facilitated participation of about 30 Zimbabwean companies who are showcasing diverse products and services at the ongoing Botswana Global Expo in Gaborone.
The expo was officially opened yesterday by Botswana President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, who later toured Zimbabwe’s pavilion, one of the biggest this year and others from regional and international peers.
Dr Masisi, who was accompanied by AfreximBank president Professor Bennedict Oramah, had a brief engagement with the Zimbabwean team as he sampled some of the products on display. Commenting on Zimbabwe’s massive presence at the showcase, a senior official from the Zimbabwean Embassy in Gaborone, Mr Witness Ngwenya said this was significant in enhancing the country’s economic diplomacy drive.
“The coming in of Zimbabwean companies in large numbers to such exhibitions is critical in helping enhance country image and destination perception. Unfortunately for many people who are not well travelled, they base their negative perception about Zimbabwe on hostile foreign media reports,” he said.
Mr Ngwenya said visitors to the Zimbabwean pavilion will definitely tell a different story.
“Potential buyers and investors who engage with our companies here can see that Zimbabwe is indeed open for business and is serious about transforming its economy,” he said.
Earlier in his opening speech, President Masisi stressed the need for Africa to embrace collective approaches towards industrialisation and said Botswana was focused on diversifying its economy from reliance on mineral commodities to a knowledge-based economy.
He said the drive towards regional integration was on the right path and urged all exhibitors to embrace it, especially in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement which came into force last year and seeks to create a single trade market.
Prof Oramah also called for higher momentum in industrialising Africa to enhance internal regional economic resilience and bridging vulnerability associated with reliance on Western controlled supply chains, which are being shaken by Covid-19 pandemic effects and the on-going Russia-Ukraine war.
Online Reporter