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Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa is hoping to stimulate his country’s flailing economy with a trip to one of the country’s biggest trading partners.
Not only will he meet with President Jacob Zuma, but he will also be addressing a business conference at the Zimbabwe embassy in Arcadia, Pretoria.
Mnangagwa will meet with Zimbabwean businesspeople living in South Africa, as well as potential investors or business people considering doing business in Zimbabwe.
In his inaugural state of the nation address on Wednesday, Mnangagwa said his government had made the growing of the economy a top priority.
Zimbabwe is one of South Africa’s top five trading partners and trade between the two countries has seen exponential growth over the years.
South Africa’s exports to Zimbabwe in 2016 were worth R29.3 billion.
President Jacob Zuma will tomorrow receive Mnangagwa at his Mahlamba Ndlopfu residence in Pretoria – this will be Mnangagwa’s first working visit to South Africa since his inauguration on November 24.
“South Africa and Zimbabwe enjoy cordial bilateral relations underpinned by strong historical and political bonds that date back to the era of the liberation struggle,” said Zuma’s spokesperson, Bongani Ngqulunga.
“The significance of these diplomatic relations is marked by the annual convening of the Bi-National Commission signed in 2015 ... The two countries have signed more than 40 memorandums of understanding and agreements ... The scope of cooperation is vast, covering several fields including security, energy, agriculture, mining, infrastructure development, trade, transport and arts and culture.
Trade between the two countries has seen exponential growth over the years with Zimbabwe being one of South Africa’s top five trading partners in the Region and the Continent,” he said.
It is expected that Zuma and Mnangagwa will share perspectives on “various issues of mutual importance”, such as, regional, continental and international developments.
On Wednesday Mnangagwa delivered his inaugural state of the nation address.
In it, he reportedly spoke candidly about corruption, and said there should be no sacred cows.
Every case must be investigated and punished, he said. And the rule of law, democracy and peace must prevail.
Economic growth is at the top of Mnangagwa’s agenda – his government is on a mission to reduce the country’s risk perception and ensure steady economic growth for the country.
He said in line with his pledge to prioritise policy implementation, ministries have been given a 100-day target.
They should abide by good standards of good corporate governance, he said, and he expected local authorities to transform themselves into engines of economic growth, and tackle many of the immediate issues, such as improving the national health crisis.
