Debra Matabvu in ANTALYA, Türkiye
ZIMBABWE and Türkiye are targeting the first quarter of next year to establish a Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation (JPCC), in a move expected to strengthen bilateral trade, investment and economic ties between the two countries.
Preparations for the commission are at an advanced stage, with the two countries having already drafted memoranda of understanding (MOUs) covering key areas of cooperation.
The proposed commission will provide a formal platform for the two governments to coordinate and advance bilateral programmes, identify investment opportunities and monitor the implementation of agreements.
This emerged after Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga met his Turkish counterpart, Mr Cevdet Yilmaz, on the sidelines of the COP31 World Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Türkiye, this morning.
Speaking after the meeting, Dr Chiwenga said the two countries had discussed several areas of economic cooperation and agreed that establishing the commission would be critical in taking their relations to the next level.
“So we touched on a number of very important areas in terms of trade and economic cooperation,” he said.
“These areas are so critical that MOUs have already been drafted and what now remains is a Joint Permanent Commission which we have proposed that it be done next year, probably in the first quarter.
“We will be discussing these matters with Foreign Affairs after briefing His Excellency the President. I think from there a number of things are going to start rolling.”
The discussions also covered cooperation in mining, mineral beneficiation and agriculture, with Zimbabwe inviting Turkish investors to explore opportunities in the country’s special economic zones.
Dr Chiwenga said bilateral trade had grown from US$24 million in 2024 to US$52 million this year, although there was still significant scope to expand commercial exchanges.
“In short, we have touched on the areas of agriculture, areas of mining, mineral beneficiation, and we have also invited them to come and make an interest in the special economic zones which we would want so that we can see our cooperation getting to, being elevated,” he said.
“Currently there is a lot of improvement but a gap is still there, quite big in terms of our trade.
“Although it has gone up from about US$24 million in 2024 to about US$52 million now, we think a lot of things can be done between us and Türkiye.”
The Vice President said Türkiye had also expressed interest in engaging Zimbabwe’s investment promotion authorities, with the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) expected to make a presentation to the Turkish business community.
“We are quite happy, and we have invited them, and they have also said they would want ZIDA to come and make a presentation to their business community,” he said.
The proposed engagement is expected to help expose Turkish businesses to investment opportunities in Zimbabwe and stimulate greater private-sector participation in the two countries’ economic relations.
