Online Reporter
Fungi Kwaramba in ALGIERS, Algeria
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is expected in Algeria today on a two-day State visit where the two nations will seek to bolster trade and economic co-operation.
While Zimbabwe and Algeria have historically enjoyed excellent political relations, on the economic front, contact has been very minimal and the President’s visit is expected to set in motion several trade agreements that have either been signed between the two countries or are on the table for further discussions.
A low-hanging fruit that has been identified is agriculture, specifically tobacco, Zimbabwe’s golden leaf which is arriving on the Algerian shores, albeit through third parties.
In an interview here yesterday, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Algeria, Vusumuzi Ntonga, said President Mnangagwa’s visit will seek to strengthen trade and economic ties.
“That is exactly what we are here to work on. There are lots of opportunities for trade in Algeria. We currently sell tobacco to Algeria, but through other parties.
“We actually visited one of the factories of the tobacco companies, where we saw bales and bales of Virginia tobacco from Zimbabwe, but coming through a third company. We invited the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) and they had direct discussions with the company here. The company agreed to look at the options of buying directly from Zimbabwe. And they are also interested in buying all their Virginia tobacco supplies from Zimbabwe. So that is an opportunity that TIMB needs to follow up and finalise,” he said.
Apart from tobacco, Ambassador Ntonga said there are also opportunities for horticultural products as well as tea, coffee and cotton.
“Algeria is a very competitive market. It is not a hungry market, so we need to work on it. They have the largest textile and clothing factory on the continent, but they import all their cotton requirements, so that is a huge opportunity for us. I think our cotton is high quality,” he said.
Ambassador Ntonga said Zimbabwe can also increase its petrochemicals trade with Algeria.
“Algeria has the advantage of energy, petrol, oil and gas, we can procure all those from here, we can procure lubricants. We can also procure materials for road construction, which are by-products of petrochemicals,” he said.
Today, the President is expected to meet his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune for a tête-à-tête before witnessing the signing of agreements between the two countries.
Tomorrow, President Mnangagwa is anticipated to wrap up his State visit with a tour of a pharmaceutical company as Zimbabwe continues to seek partnerships to bolster the ongoing revamp of the country’s health sector.
He is also expected to visit a tractor manufacturing company.
“Most of the Algerian companies are in the public sector. There is an oil company, which also has subsidiaries in agriculture and hotels. They even have an airline. So there is a lot of public sector involvement,” said Ambassador Ntonga.
Algeria played a major role in the liberation of Southern African nations and it is where the legendary ZPRA Commander and National Hero Rogers Alfred Nikita Mangena was trained during Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.
Ambassador Ntonga said a State visit to a country like Algeria, with strong ties that date back to the liberation struggle, often opens more doors.
“We are in a country in which Zimbabwe is held in high regard and they are ready to offer co-operation opportunities in the different sectors. We look forward to those negotiations.
“Already, we have had our negotiations under the Joint Commission and we have come to an agreement on a lot of issues. We share a lot of principles based on our history. So the Joint Commission agreed to sign two agreements in education.
“One is the renewal of scientific and educational co-operation, under which they are providing scholarships to us. Another one is on vocational training. And they are also going to pursue negotiations to finalise agreements on mutual recognition of our qualifications in the exchange of professors and researchers,” he said.
Presently, there are 343 Zimbabwean students under the Algerian scholarship programme, the majority of whom are majoring in Medicine and Engineering.
“The majority of our students are pursuing science. Last year, we were happy that Algeria gave us 72 slots for Medicine. So we are upwards of 80 of the 343 who are doing Medicine.
“The other half is doing Engineering, different engineering disciplines. From Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, Aeronautical, Hydrocarbon and Petrochemical Engineering,” said Ambassador Ntonga.
Peter Tanyanyiwa