Zim, Scotland ties set to grow
ZIMBABWE is set to enhance ties with Scotland following the appointment of Ms Heather Mudhari as the country’s Honorary Consul General to Edinburgh.
Ms Mudhari’s appointment is expected to woo investors from Scotland and enhance bilateral ties with the country, which is within the United Kingdom (UK) but has an autonomous government.
Recently, Zimbabwe’s chief envoy to the UK, Ambassador Christian Katsande, said the embassy would facilitate the opening of consulates and widen the diplomatic services outside of the headquarters in London.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Ms Mudhari, who is currently in Zimbabwe, said she had hit the ground running in wooing Scottish investors.
“I was recently appointed the Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Zimbabwe to Scotland by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade,” she said.
“I have become the first Zimbabwe Representative to Scotland and joined the Zimbabwe UK diplomatic Mission led by His Excellency Colonel Rtd Ambassador Christian Katsande, Zimbabwe High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. My appointment was accepted and acknowledged by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a letter that congratulated me for the new role and I am now recognised as a member of the Diplomatic Consular Corps in Scotland.”
Ms Mudhari said since her appointment, she has already started working with potential investors who have identified areas of interest in the country.
“My appointment has been welcomed by the Scottish business community with investors and companies registering their interest to engage and invest in Zimbabwe especially in Energy and Mining.
“Scotland and Zimbabwe have a long relationship which can’t be ignored, and can be traced back to the 19th Century when Scottish missionaries and explorers like Robert Moffat and David Livingstone came to Zimbabwe.
“Former Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, was also originally from Scotland,” she said.
Ms Mudhari, who is also a media practitioner, said she is working on a number of projects to improve Zimbabwe’s image.
“I love my country. I would love to see it represented well in the media. It’s a beautiful country with hardworking, warm and welcoming citizens.
“My country is rich in culture, natural resources and arable land.
“I encourage fellow Zimbabweans and my generation to be united, positive, work together and contribute to the economic development of our country from wherever they are,” she said adding that the next generation should never have to suffer and experience economic hardships as the current generation will bring Zimbabwe back to its former glory.
Ms Mudhari is highly skilled in Digital Marketing, Media, Broadcast Journalism and TV Production.
She holds a Masters Degree in Media, Law and Society, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Scotland. She is pursuing a doctorate in Diplomacy and has won several awards in the UK.
Ms Mudhari is also an international investment and travel consultant, social entrepreneur and television personality who has featured in television programmes on BBC, Netflix and Amazon Prime.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Mail, Ambassador Katsande said the establishment of Honorary Consuls in the UK was part of plans to enhance Zimbabwe’s diplomatic standing outside of London.
“We are providing consular services but we are pursuing that now to establish honorary consuls throughout the UK, persons who really represent national interests. Zimbabwe’s national interests in promoting trade, investment, tourism, cultural exchange and educational programmes to mutual benefit.
“We started in Scotland, we are going to move to Wales, Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds and to even see that we have honorary consuls who can extend consular services to our people so that they do not have to travel all the way to London although we are always available,” he said.