Online ReporterGibson Nyikadzino
Herald Correspondent
Zimbabwe and China have pledged to strengthen their historical cooperation by working closely to implement the consensus reached by Presidents Mnangagwa and Xi Jinping at a meeting held during the former’s visit to Beijing on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting last September.
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Zhou Ding reiterated his country’s support for Zimbabwe after yesterday’s courtesy meeting with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira.
In addition, Mr Ding said the two countries will begin implementing the 10 partnership action plans proposed during the FOCAC meeting underpinned by politics, economy and trade, security, culture, and international cooperation.
“We will work closely to implement the consensus reached by our two leaders, President Xi Jinping and President Mnangagwa, during the FOCAC meeting and during President Mnangagwa’s state visit to China,” he said.
“We will be implementing the 10 partnership action plans proposed by the China-African leaders.
“We are both satisfied with what we have achieved and what we are doing.”
Mr Ding said China’s assistance and solidarity to Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence resembles shared beliefs and values towards the country’s cooperation trajectory which has “huge potential”.
“China contributed a lot during Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, so we have a shared belief, shared value of our relations and our cooperation is our shared interest and shared value.
“So, looking ahead, our relations still have a huge potential. We will be focusing on politics, economic cooperation, security issues, and people-to-people exchanges,” he added.
As part of celebrating 45 years of Zimbabwe-China relations, Mr Ding said they will organise a series of commemorative events covering education, culture, agriculture, cooperation, and trade issues.
Meanwhile, outgoing Indonesian Ambassador Mr Dewa Sastrawan paid a courtesy visit to Prof Murwira and thanked Zimbabwe for supporting his country during his mission.
He said the visits by Vice-Presidents Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi to Indonesia opened new chapters of cooperation and there is hope various agreements will be signed this year.
