President’s visit to cap excellent Zim-Belarus ties

BELARUS has started preparatory works for President Mnangagwa’s scheduled visit to the country this year, as relations between Harare and Minsk continue on an upward trajectory.

Belarusian Foreign minister Sergei Aleinik said this yesterday after paying a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House following the completion of the ministerial meeting of the first session of the Zimbabwe-Belarus Joint Permanent Commission on Co-operation (JPCC) which ended in Harare on Thursday.

In an interview following the closed-door meeting with the President, Minister Aleinik said the accelerated growth in relations between Harare and Minsk witnessed in recent years was founded on the solid relationship that exists between President Mnangagwa and his counterpart President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

President Lukashenko made a historic State visit to Zimbabwe last year, in reciprocation to President Mnangagwa’s 2019 trip to Belarus.

Since then, more than 15 Zimbabwean delegations have visited Belarus.

“I think we enjoy a really excellent level of our relationship which was built for 30 years since the establishment of our diplomatic relationship. I also think the leading role in building up the strong bonds of our friendship, partnership and co-operation was taken by the two Presidents, President Mnangagwa and President Lukashenko.

“That was sealed during last year’s State visit of our President to Zimbabwe and today we were discussing the reciprocal visit of President Mnangagwa to Belarus which we do hope will take place later this year.

“We have already started the preparatory process for this visit,” he said.

Minister Aleinik said Belarus was very much committed to aiding Zimbabwe’s attainment of Vision 2030 as this would be a mutually beneficial achievement.

The two countries are deepening cooperation in sectors that include mining, infrastructure development, and science and innovation, with two more agreements in agriculture and industry signed at the JPCC meeting on Thursday.

Other co-operation pacts are expected to be signed in Belarus during President Mnangagwa’s visit.

“We agreed to enhance and deepen our relations and we look forward to building further bonds of friendship, partnership and co-operation which will help to reach the goal of Vision 2030 for Zimbabwe which will make our countries stronger and which will definitely bring more benefits to sustainable economic development of our countries and to prosperity of our people,” said Minister Aleinik.

The JPCC, he said, provided a platform for co-operation in a plethora of areas for the mutual benefit of both countries.

“Yesterday we completed the first meeting of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC) where we were discussing a whole range of issues on bilateral cooperation in the political sphere, trade and economic co-operation, social dimensions, international organisations and many other social related areas,”Minister Aleinik said.

Since the advent of the Second Republic, Zimbabwe and Belarus have deepened the scope of their co-operation by focusing on economic diplomacy and exchanges in critical sectors for economic revival and transformation.

signature project,” he said.

President Mnangagwa said his administration was also working on ensuring Diaspora participation in the country’s economic development.

“Under the Second Republic, no one and no place is being left behind. My Government is, thus, scaling up the involvement and participation of our Diaspora in the national development agenda.

“Efforts are being targeted towards ensuring that the economic dividends of our Diaspora, coupled with their diverse skills and experiences, spur modernisation, industrialisation and sustainable development.

“These efforts, combined with the contribution of local industry, foreign direct investment and other strategic partnerships, are positively impacting on our economy,” he said.

As the incoming chair of SADC, President Mnangagwa reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s commitment to furthering the AU’s Agenda 2063.

“As you may be aware, Zimbabwe will host the 44th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in August this year. As the incoming Chair of SADC, I reaffirm my commitment to furthering goals and aspirations of our region, in line with the AU Agenda 2063. I look forward to your support in this regard.

“I also invite you to participate and support my Government in hosting the 56th Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which begins next week,” he said.

The President expressed gratitude to various development partners for their support as Zimbabwe continues to consolidate its food security.

“We are grateful for the co-operation from various development partners to augment our domestic efforts to realise sustained food security, while also building greater community resilience and adaptive capacities.

“Further, my Administration acknowledges the bilateral and multilateral efforts that saw our country contain the outbreak of cholera earlier this year,” he said.

President Mnangagwa also expressed the country’s sympathy with countries affected by climate change induced natural disasters.

He said Zimbabwe stood ready to scale up efforts to mitigate the phenomena’s negative impacts.

“We gather at a time when climate change-induced disasters continue to destroy our environments, economies, lives and livelihoods. Natural catastrophes are affecting several countries. Zimbabwe empathises with affected jurisdictions both on the African Continent and beyond, who continue to lose livelihoods and property as a result of climate change.

“To de-risk the effects of this undesirable phenomenon, concerted multilateral efforts must be scaled up under the architecture of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Zimbabwe is ready to play its part in this regard,” said the President.

In a speech read on his behalf by Egyptian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Salwa Mowafi, the Dean of Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations, Mr Jose Ela Ebang Mbang, said Zimbabwe was making invaluable contributions at all levels.

“We recognise the significant contributions of the Republic of Zimbabwe in regional, continental and international quarters. Indeed the world needs Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe needs the world,” said Mr Mbang who is also Equatorial Guinea Ambassador to Zimbabwe.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava said Zimbabwe was committed to continuously nurturing relations with other countries under the engagement and re-engagement diplomatic drive.