Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
KENYAN President, Dr William Ruto has said he will be engaging the private sector in his country to work towards improving trade between Zimbabwe and Kenya, noting that he had seen a lot of possible areas for co-operation during his two-day visit to the country.
President Ruto was speaking to journalists yesterday at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo before his departure back to Kenya.
He was on a two-day visit to Zimbabwe which saw the two countries signing several bilateral agreements. President Ruto also presided over the official opening of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) yesterday.
The Kenyan leader said trade between Zimbabwe and Kenya was very low, yet there were many tradable products between the two countries.
“I will be mobilising the Kenyan private sector to participate more (at the ZITF) because I have seen many opportunities for possible investment, enhancing trade and business within our region, I say this because the trade between Kenya and Zimbabwe at the moment is very low and yet we have many tradable products between our two countries.
“There is the opportunity, the potential is great, therefore I have undertaken to my elder brother (President Mnangagwa) that I will be mobilising the private sector to engage our counterparts in this country so that we can build better synergy and can move better trade investment into the next level,” said President Ruto.
He said the growth of the ZITF was an eye-opener to him commending the organisers who have grown the trade showcase from being a Zimbabwean affair to having a global impact.
“That, for almost 60 years there has been a trade fair in Bulawayo, speaks volumes on what history can do and what assistance and innovation can do. I am very proud of what I saw at this trade fair, it moved from being an agricultural show to a trade fair where we discuss agriculture, economy, technology and many other areas of commerce of investment, business, industry, and manufacturing and that is the future of relations between countries.
“It has also moved on from being an affair about Zimbabwe to the region to the continent and now it’s a global affair and the exhibitions draw from the EU, Japan, and many other countries. It ties into what we as leaders in this continent are doing, that trade investment is going to take the lead in relations because it is said we can share wealth but cannot share poverty, therefore this is very important to us,” said President Ruto.
He said the trade showcase will go a long way in improving trade within the entire African continent, subsequently ensuring the growth of the African economy.
“This trade fair is a monumental success and I consider that we will build on it so that we will trade between our countries. Zimbabwe and Kenya are signatories to the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement that brings together Comesa, East African Community (EAC), and Sadc into one block.
“We are also members of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area again which gives us leverage on how we can do business together and eliminate unnecessary barriers to investment and enable growth for our countries and continent,” said President Ruto.
In bidding his Kenyan counterpart farewell, President Mnangagwa said his visit was important in that it allowed the two nations to explore areas where they could work together.
“I want to express my gratitude to my younger brother for accepting the invitation to come and grace the 64th edition of our trade fair. I’m sure he was able to move around to see the level of technological development we have achieved and I believe I might also in the future be able to visit Kenya to see and compare what we can learn from each other in our respective economies.
“It is very important to be able to talk to each other and where there are gaps we fill them by copying where the younger brother has got further than the other. It is critically important that this type of synergy continue to be promoted,” said the President.
Accompanying President Mnangagwa to bid farewell to President Ruto were First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, Vice-President Kembo Mohadi, Cabinet Ministers, Service Chiefs, ZITF company officials and various Government officials.
Ends//…
Online Reporter