WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP

Monday

Zimbabwe is endowed with a vast array of natural resources but lacks capital and technological expertise to fully exploit them, President Mnangagwa has said.

Addressing members of the United Arab Emirates business community in Dubai on Saturday, where he was attending the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), President Mnangagwa reiterated that Zimbabwe was open for business and invited investors to consider the vast opportunities in the country.

Tuesday rich knowledge and vast natural resources, while avoiding complacency in the fight against HIV, President Mnangagwa has said.

He said deliberate and concrete action plans based on science are essential in the fight against HIV as conferences, meetings and workshops alone are inadequate to beat back the pandemic.

Wednesday

Without the heavy burden of illegal economic sanctions, Zimbabwe can become a medicine hub for Africa as it has a vibrant industrial base and requisite infrastructure, a senior United Nations official has said.

The UN official, who is in the country for the 22nd International Conference on

AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), noted that although the country remains under illegal economic sanctions, it has been able to make tremendous progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, consequently achieving world-set goals way ahead of schedule.

Thursday

Science and technology are critical to the realisation of the country’s industrialisation and modernisation goals and tertiary institutions like the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) are pivotal in that endeavour, President Mnangagwa has said.

Presiding over the 29th graduation ceremony at NUST in Bulawayo yesterday, the President expressed satisfaction with the infrastructural development programme at the institution, saying gone are the days when colleges would outsource skills, but rather are now looking inwardly for expertise.

Friday

Zimbabwe will not accept exploitative deals in the mining sector, but will only agree to investments that give it the“maximum benefit” from its non-renewable resources.

This was said by President Mnangagwa as part of his contributions to a presidential panel discussion at the Kusi Ideas Festival in Gaborone yesterday, which was co-hosted by Kenya’s Nation Media Group and the Government of Botswana.