Mukudzei Chingwere Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE is stepping up efforts to deepen trade and investment ties with Kenya and Pakistan, with the forthcoming inaugural Bi-National Commission with Kenya and plans to connect businesses with Pakistan emerging as key avenues for expanding economic cooperation.
The two countries’ ambassadors to Zimbabwe outlined the opportunities after separate meetings with Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga yesterday, highlighting prospects in trade, investment, transport connectivity and private sector partnerships.
Kenyan Ambassador Gertrude Angote said President Mnangagwa and his Kenyan counterpart, President William Ruto, would co-chair the inaugural Bi-National Commission in Nairobi next month, with the meeting expected to produce practical measures to expand trade and investment.
“We are looking forward to strengthening our trade and investment ties,” she said.
Bilateral trade between Zimbabwe and Kenya rose to US$57,6 million in 2025, from US$35,3 million in 2024, an increase of about 63 percent.
Ambassador Angote said the growth was encouraging, but trade volumes remained below the potential offered by the two countries’ longstanding relations.
“Our trade volumes look like they are going up,” she said.
She said the BNC would seek to translate diplomatic ties into tangible business opportunities through an action-oriented framework focused on market access and private sector cooperation.
“We are looking at being able to come up with a very practical action-oriented matrix that will help us to deepen our private sector partnership and market access,” she said.
Ambassador Angote said Zimbabwe and Kenya shared strong historical ties, people-to-people connections and a common Pan-African spirit.
Kenya established its embassy in Zimbabwe in 1980, shortly after Zimbabwe attained independence.
Improving air connectivity also featured in the discussions, with Kenya keen to strengthen links with Zimbabwe, including routes serving Harare and Victoria Falls.
“For Kenya, we are very interested in really strengthening our air connectivity between Kenya and Zimbabwe,” she said.
Kenya also intends to participate in Zimbabwe’s Museum of African Liberation, contributing to the documentation and preservation of the continent’s liberation history.
“We are looking forward to really writing the story of Africa through that museum,” she said.
The two countries also discussed cooperation through the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area and mutual support in international institutions.
Kenya is seeking Zimbabwe’s support for its bid to host the secretariat of the COMESA-East African Community-Southern African Development Community tripartite arrangement.
Ambassador Angote also cited easier travel between the two countries and Kenya’s granting of citizenship to members of its Shona community as important foundations for strengthening people-to-people relations.
In a separate engagement with VP Chiwenga, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Muhammad Qazi said the two countries had reviewed existing cooperation and explored ways to expand commercial relations.
“We had a very constructive and fruitful discussion in many areas of bilateral cooperation,” he said.
The discussions covered existing cooperation in defence and education as well as opportunities to increase trade, investment and business partnerships.
“We also discussed opportunities that lie ahead between the two countries in the fields of trade, commerce, investment, particularly in pharmaceuticals, textiles, information technology and other areas,” he said.
Ambassador Qazi said bilateral trade remained below its potential, prompting efforts to strengthen connections between businesses in the two countries.
He said he had engaged stakeholders in Zimbabwe and was working to connect them with relevant organisations and business counterparts in Pakistan to identify new areas of cooperation.
“The idea is to create linkages and build bridges between the business communities of the two countries so that they can take new initiatives, identify new areas of cooperation,” he said.
He expressed confidence that stronger business connections would help increase trade.
Ambassador Qazi said VP Chiwenga’s previous visits to Pakistan and his established connections with the country provided a foundation for further engagement.
Zimbabwe, he added, occupied an important place in Pakistan’s “Engage Africa” initiative, which seeks to deepen cooperation and people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and African countries.
“Pakistan realises that there is a lot of potential in Africa, and in building linkages in so many fields between Pakistan and Africa, and also establishing people-to-people contacts,” he said.
