Rutendo Nyeve [email protected]
ZIMBABWE is moving closer to securing full membership of the BRICS economic bloc, with the Government set to submit its instruments of accession in Brazil as part of efforts to deepen economic cooperation and expand access to alternative sources of development financing.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira told Parliament that the country had made tremendous progress in its engagement with the grouping, having already secured admission as a borrowing member of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB).
He said Zimbabwe was now preparing to complete the necessary procedures for full membership of BRICS, with the instruments set to be submitted to Brazil, which presently chairs the bloc.
Zimbabwe applied to join the NDB in 2024 and was formally admitted as a borrowing member earlier this year, unlocking access to long-term infrastructure and sustainable development finance outside the traditional Western-dominated system.
“In this regard, Zimbabwe is seeking membership to other economic groupings such as BRICS and, to this end, in 2024 we started applying for membership to the BRICS Bank. Now, we have been admitted to the BRICS Bank as a borrowing member.
“We are going to submit our instruments so that we become a full member of BRICS. We are going to submit that to Brazil,” said Prof Murwira.
Full membership would deepen Zimbabwe’s engagement with one of the world’s major emerging-economy groupings, strengthening opportunities for trade, investment, development cooperation and participation in discussions shaping the global economic order.
The BRICS bloc, which brings together major emerging economies, has increasingly positioned itself as a platform for strengthening economic cooperation among developing countries and promoting reforms to the international financial system.
The push for membership comes as the country intensifies efforts to diversify its international partnerships and broaden its participation in global financial institutions after years of limited access to international capital.
Zimbabwe has since been formally removed from the World Bank’s fragile and conflict-affected economies list, a move that signals progress in its efforts to rebuild relations with international financial institutions.
Prof Murwira said the delisting which was in August, was part of President Mnangagwa’s broader engagement and re-engagement drive aimed at restoring the country’s standing in the international financial architecture under the Second Republic.
“You would appreciate that in terms of integrating Zimbabwe into the global economy, being part of the financial architecture of the world is very important,” he said.
“We have started engaging, for example, in the arrears clearance process with our debtors so that we are transparent in the way we are doing our things and we are succeeding along those lines.
“We have also been working with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to the extent that in August 2026, Zimbabwe was removed from the list of fragile economies as well as conflict-affected economies.”
The Government has been pursuing debt and arrears clearance under its re-engagement strategy, seeking to normalise relations with creditors and unlock access to affordable financing for infrastructure and economic development.
Zimbabwe’s admission to the NDB provides another avenue for accessing development financing, particularly for infrastructure and sustainable development projects, although it does not automatically resolve the country’s outstanding debt obligations to traditional multilateral lenders.
Prof Murwira said the country’s international engagement was guided by the need to promote cooperation while safeguarding national interests.
“You can see that we are moving the country towards that integration, but at the same time, as a country, we are seeking to integrate by belonging to other organisations that stand for peace and human well-being and this is as instructed by Section 12 (2) of our Constitution,” he said.
Minister Murwira said the Government would continue pursuing international partnerships while ensuring that Zimbabwe’s political, security and economic interests remained protected.
“There is a lot of movement that we are making, but as I said, we still have to keep focused and humble and make sure that we do our things while protecting Zimbabwe in total in terms of its political, security and economic interests and in terms of making sure that we maintain the social cohesion of this country by making sure that our external environment does not disturb us,” he said.
“We are working very hard and we have to continue doing so.”
Zimbabwe’s renewed diplomatic engagement comes against the backdrop of more than two decades of strained relations with Western-led financial institutions and restricted access to international capital markets.
The country accumulated substantial arrears to multilateral creditors, including the World Bank and African Development Bank, limiting its access to concessional financing and increasing the cost of funding critical development programmes.
While the World Bank delisting and admission to the NDB do not immediately clear the country’s debt overhang or restore full access to traditional lending facilities, the Government sees expanded participation in institutions such as BRICS as an important avenue for strengthening economic partnerships and advancing its development agenda.
