Zim, Belarus seal big economic deals
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa’s announcement to the world that Zimbabwe is now open for business has unlocked a floodgate of opportunities for the country, with Belarus yesterday signing multi-million-dollar economic deals with the country’s new dispensation.
Belarus promised to increase trade between Harare and Minsk to US$1 billion in the near future.
One of the agreements signed included a US$43 million deal for the supply of agriculture equipment.
Further, Belarus agreed to construct the biggest solar energy plant in the country, starting January next year.
Belarus Chief of Presidential Affairs General Colonel Victor Sheiman, who is leading six-member delegation of senior officials to Zimbabwe, confirmed that they signed a number of agreements with Zimbabwe.
Gen Col Sheiman’s position is equivalent to that of Vice President.
Yesterday, he held high-level meetings with President Mnangagwa at his Munhumutapa Offices to finalise the agreements.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Lieutenant-General Sibusiso Moyo (Retired) told journalists that details of the agreements will be made available today after finalisation.
“There were a lot of deliberations which took place in the morning — a lot of commitments, some of the agreements have already been signed in the morning and some are going to be continuing to be discussed and we will advise you by the end of the day tomorrow,” said Lt-Gen Moyo. In a media briefing at Munhumutapa
Government Offices yesterday, Gen Col Sheiman said: “I have a schedule of meetings with His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe.
I am hoping to do a very serious, dynamic bilateral cooperation between Belarus and Zimbabwe.
We are ready to work in various issues in the Republic of Zimbabwe for the mining activity, energy projects, investing in construction, agriculture machines and technology, supply and transfer of new technologies and new equipment with the Republic of Zimbabwe and also when we talk about energy it will be special projects for solar power energy.
All these big activities between our countries, we want to work as partners and as friends for the benefit of people of Zimbabwe and people of the Republic of Belarus.
After we sign our different agreements of cooperation, I promise I will send thousands of my technical specialists to implement anything that we sign at bilateral level here in Zimbabwe and also I welcome Zimbabweans to use all our universities to educate them for future development of the economy of Zimbabwe.”
Gen Col Sheiman said another US$15 million deal for the supply of forestry machinery to be used by allied timber companies in Zimbabwe was also in the offing.
“My goal is to be one-billion-dollar trade between our two countries in future, construction, build dams, irrigation systems, industrial enterprises even low cost houses,” he said.
“I will also give an order for our Government to set up a special construction company for this purpose in Zimbabwe. Also Zimbabwe as a landlocked country needs a lot of trucks, a lot of logistics companies to deliver their goods.
“This is also one more issue we can do because Belarus is an industrial country and was the centre of industry for the whole Soviet Union.”
Belarus has so far supplied highly mechanised mining equipment that is being used by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company in Chiadzwa.
Other members of Gen Col Sheiman’s delegation included Sergei Sheiman (advisor), Anrey Shinamovich (advisor), Alex Zingmen (advisor), Aleksandr Semekhin Chief of financial bureau of the department of affairs of the President), Andrey Kovkhuto (former Minister of Minerals and Environment Protection of Belarus) and Mikhail Baranov — Security).