Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
The Mid-Term Review of the Zimbabwe-Belarus Joint Permanent Commission (JPCC) opened in Harare this morning with the senior officials’ meeting discussing the agenda of the review meeting that will run until 16 April.
The review will assess the implementation status of previously agreed cooperation frameworks in agriculture, industrial production, education, energy, transport, and facilitation of investment.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Professor Amon Murwira and his Belarus counterpart, Mr Maxim Ryzhenkov, will co-chair the review of the JPCC between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Belarus.
In his remarks during the opening ceremony, Belarus’s Head of the Department of Africa and the Middle East in the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yury Nikolaichik commended Zimbabwe on its development trajectory.
“It is nice to see how this friendly country is developing. Belarusian-Zimbabwean cooperation continues at various levels – from the Presidents’ offices to ordinary citizens.
“The most important result achieved so far was the supply of equipment within the third phase of the joint Agricultural Mechanization Facility Programme 2.
“In accordance with the needs of Zimbabwe, significant attention will be paid to issues to do with the harvesting and storage of crops,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr Pearson Chigiji, Chief Director for Political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and head of Zimbabwe’s senior officials’ delegation urged the two countries to take advantage of the close ties between their two leaders to strengthen relations.
“The close relationship that exists between our leaders – President Emmerson Mnangagwa and President Alexander Lukashenko – is the bedrock upon which the Zimbabwe-Belarus partnership is built.
“We must seize this opportunity to engage strategically. Through such engagements, we can chart a path towards tangible and mutually beneficial cooperation between our nations.
“We must ensure that what we agree upon today is not only captured in written agreements, but is implemented. Failure to do so will render our deliberations void.
“Let us remain open to discussing any other issues of mutual interest as our partnership continues to evolve,” Mr Chigiji said.
