Zim, Indonesia to bolster bilateral ties
SPEAKER of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said Zimbabwe should maximise its bilateral relations with Indonesia, as the Asian country has expressed interest in local beef and other commodities like soya beans.
Adv Mudenda said this after meeting the Indonesian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Stephanus Yuwono in Harare yesterday.
He said he was aware that the Indonesian government was keen to import 10 tonnes of beef per month from Zimbabwe, as well as 10 tonnes of soya beans.
“When I last visited the country and got that request from the Indonesian Speaker of Parliament, I relayed the message to the Executive and I’m hoping modalities are being put in place to ensure that we have a share of that market which should bring in the much desired foreign currency in our country,” said Adv Mudenda.
Asked whether the country had enough cattle to supply the seemingly lucrative Indonesian market, Adv Mudenda said Zimbabwe should explore other markets following a tiff with the European Union where it used to export beef.
“We have sufficient herds at the moment and the Ministry of Agriculture has come up with strategies of increasing the beef cattle and maintain the numbers,” he said.
“Also, we’re no longer selling any meat to the European Union, so we have sufficient beef at this point.”
To further strengthen relations between the two countries, Adv Mudenda said the tourism industry was to be fully utilised.
“We must cement a people-to-people relationship and we can do that through organised visits of tourists from either country,” he said.
“I’m happy that since the official opening of the Victoria Falls International Airport, we have had a significant number of airplanes coming to Zimbabwe.”
Adv Mudenda said there was need to ensure that accommodation was increased in the resort town to prevent tourist congestion.
“From what I know, we are short of 1 200 beds in Victoria Falls and I think the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry is looking into that we have at least four, five hotels opening up,” he said. “Otherwise, we may end up suffering congestion in Victoria Falls.”
Adv Mudenda said he hoped the two countries would establish a Zimbabwe-Indonesia Parliamentary Friendly Association as a way of cementing their relations through parliamentary diplomacy.
Ambassador Yuwono said he looked forward to reinforcing his country’s bilateral relations with Zimbabwe in education, tourism and economic sectors.
He said the joint commissions signed between his country and Zimbabwe in 2015 should be implemented.
“We have excellent relations with Zimbabwe and all we have to do is implement the agreements that we have,” he said.
“We look forward to our national airline also flying to Victoria Falls so that we can further buttress our tourism too.”
Zimbabwe and Indonesia have penned several economic bilateral agreements, including a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a joint commission on trade and investment.