ZNCC, South Korea counterpart sign MoU

THE Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) aimed at promoting the development of trade and fostering enhanced economic relations between the two countries.

The signing ceremony was held on the sidelines of the ongoing South Korea-Africa Summit and the MoU will take into consideration the similarity of the objectives in terms of promoting trade, industry and investment while collaboratively representing the interests of their respective business communities.

Both Zimbabwe and South Korea have a lot to benefit from enhanced bilateral relations. As a United Nations Security Council non-permanent member, South Korea has a lot of international influence that Zimbabwe can leverage on to advance its engagement and re-engagement foreign policy.

ZNCC president, Mr Mike Kamungeremu, said the MoU will facilitate improved relations in the development of trade between Korea and Zimbabwe.

“Through this MoU, we will be sharing important trade and economic information. We will also be collaborating in organising trade missions and business forums that will see business to business (B2B) interactions,” he said.

“So, we hope the level of trade between Zimbabwe and South Korea will be increasing, thanks to this MoU. We are aware that there are Korean products on the Zimbabwean market, but they are sourced through third parties and the same also is happening in some of the Zimbabwean products that Korea is getting through countries like Netherlands.

“We hope this will soon be a thing of the past as business happens between businesspeople from Korea and Zimbabwe and we are very grateful to our Zimbabwean Ambassador to South Korea and Japan, Ambassador Stewart Nyakotyo, who facilitated everything to make this possible.”

President Mnangagwa is among the key figures attending the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit, which began yesterday in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

South Korea is an East Asian country located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.

It’s the first summit of its kind to be held in South Korea since the founding of the country on 15 August 1948.

The summit offers a platform for African leaders and related international organisations to exchange ideas on how to enhance bilateral trade with the East Asian country known for such international brands as LG, Samsung, KIA, Daewoo, Ssangyong and Hyundai Motors.

The summit was held under the theme “The Future We Make Together: Shared Growth, Sustainability and Solidarity”.

The 2024 Korea-Africa Summit aims to elevate co-operation between Korea and Africa. It is designed to be a platform for discussion, featuring not only a summit session for the Heads of State and international organisations, but also a series of conference sessions on a wide range of topics such as agriculture, ICT, forestry, health, security, tourism and energy.

Zimbabwe is already focused on increasing its trade with diverse partners, including the East Asian country, by diversifying its export products. At the moment, Zimbabwe’s biggest export to South Korea is raw tobacco.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an online data visualisation and distribution platform focused on the geography and dynamics of economic activities, in March 2024, South Korea exported US$1,45 million and imported US$2,25 million from Zimbabwe, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$798 000.

Although the level of trade and investments between the two countries is low, there is abundant goodwill from both sides to build on the existing cordial relations.

The presence for the first time by South Korea at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair showed very serious intent to improve the economic ties between the two countries. — @SikhulekelaniM1