Online Reporter
Mukudzei Chingwere in Johannesburg
ZIMBABWE and South Africa will convene their 4th Bi-National Commission (BNC) in January 2026 in South Africa, with a strong focus on deepening cooperation and promoting mutually beneficial value addition.
The decision to hold the upcoming BNC was reached during a meeting between Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and his South African counterpart Deputy President Paul Mashatile, held on the margins of the G20 Summit.
The BNC follows the last session held in Harare in 2019, where officials reviewed the implementation of 45 bilateral agreements covering trade, investment, migration, health, and other critical sectors.
South Africa remains Zimbabwe’s largest trading partner, accounting for approximately 46 percent of Zimbabwe’s total imports and around 30 percent of its total exports.
The forthcoming BNC is expected to pave the way for intensified collaboration, addressing key economic sectors and fostering deeper ties between the two nations — particularly in beneficiation and value addition as both countries seek to maximise returns from their resources.
“We discussed our bilateral relations. We started with the Bi-National Commission, which will be held next year where we will review a number of issues in all economic sectors and all the enablers that will propel our economic co-operation, which is energy, the logistics system.
“We discussed deeper co-operation in beneficiation and value-addition, be it in mining or agriculture. We want to send processed products, not raw materials; our countries are not for extraction.
They also informed us that they will start working on the repatriation of the Zimbabwe bird and the remains of the skulls of our people which are still here,” said VP Chiwenga.
He added that Zimbabwe supports South Africa’s G20 Presidency and attended the summit not only to show solidarity with its neighbour but also to engage with this influential grouping.
“We support South Africa’s G20 leadership, and I conveyed to the Deputy President, President Mnangagwa’s congratulations and message of support to President Ramaphosa.
The G20 is a very important organisation, made up of 19 countries, the European Union, and has since 2023 added the African Union, thus bringing together 85 percent of global Gross Domestic Product, 75 percent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population. We are not a member, but we will help to put an African position on this important group,” said VP Chiwenga.
Deputy President Mashatile expressed appreciation for Zimbabwe’s support during South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
“We have just completed our brief discussions on important issues between our two countries. We have agreed that we will have our Bi-National Commission in early January.
We are going to look at various issues of the economy, particularly how we can work together on issues of critical minerals, also issues of migration policy and other matters we think are very important to our two countries.
“South Africa appreciates the support we are receiving from Zimbabwe and the people of Zimbabwe, particularly our leadership of SADC at the moment, dealing with issues of Madagascar, the DRC and Mozambique and other places. We are having very strong support from the people of Zimbabwe,” said Deputy President Mashatile.
