The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
A high-powered Russian delegation led by that country’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov is expected in Zimbabwe next week to scout for investment opportunities in various sectors of the economy. The visit by the Russians comes at a time Zimbabwe is establishing mechanisms to lure FDI with the latest being the gazetting of the Special Economic Zones Act which, among other issues, gives concessions to local and foreign investors.Expectations are high in Harare that the team from Moscow, expected from November 12 to 17, will ink multi-million dollar deals in mining, engineering, power generation, manufacturing, construction, agro-processing, ICTs and health. The visit will further strengthen Russo-Zimbabwe relations. Moscow has stood by Harare since the days of the liberation struggle, and more recently vetoed — along with China — an attempt by Western powers to impose United Nations Security Council sanctions on Zimbabwe.
The Sunday Mail understands that the Russian delegation will meet Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha, and his Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion counterpart Dr Obert Mpofu. The team will also engage senior officials from the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe. In July, a Zimbabwean business delegation travelled to Russia to showcase investment opportunities.
The visit followed the signing early this year of a memorandum of understanding between the Investment Promotion Ministry and the Moscow Region Chamber of Commerce to facilitate business investments between the two countries.
Dr Mpofu said, “The delegation, which will be led by the Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, is in search of investment opportunities in the country as well as for commodities markets in sectors that include health, construction, energy, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, SEZs and transport among others,” he said.
“The delegation comes at a time the Special Economic Zone Act has just been signed into law which we hope will work to our advantage.
“The (Russian) team will visit some of the areas that have been set aside for SEZs and since the President has signed the Act, we will set a board that will work on implementation of the SEZs which we hope will accelerate investment promotion between the two countries.” Russian investors last year inked a US$3 billion platinum mining deal to dig for the resource in Darwendale. The Darwendale venture is set to produce 800 000 ounces of platinum annually and create at least 8 000 jobs. Economist Dr Gift Mugano said of the Russians’ visit: “Zimbabwe is in dire need of investment as we all know that under dollarised environment we cannot print money but relies on investment, exports, aid and remittances. “Of late, our foreign direct investment had been falling. When we hear that economic powerhouses like Russia are making investment enquiries one can only hope that this will materialise into real deals.”
