Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Desk Editor
THE country’s diplomatic offensive continues to make traction with major economic strides made in various sectors, with countries such as Indonesia and China extending a helping hand.
The National Development Strategy One has seen the image-building and economic diplomatic thrust of the blueprint gaining momentum.
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, His Excellency Zhou Ding, who paid a courtesy call to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Professor Amon Murwira in Harare this Thursday, said Harare and Beijing are keen to begin implementing 10 plans proposed during the September 2024 State Visit and attendance to the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“This year, we will be celebrating the 45th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, and Zimbabwe will be celebrating the 45th anniversary of its independence,” he said.
“China contributed a lot during Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, so we have a shared belief, and shared value of our relations, and our cooperation is our shared interest and shared value. Looking ahead, our relations still have a huge potential, we will be focusing on politics, economic cooperation, security issues, and people-to-people exchanges.
“To commemorate the anniversary, we will organize a series of commemorative events covering education, culture, agriculture, cooperation, and trade issues.
“I think both sides, our embassy, and ministry, will work closely to implement the consensus reached by two heads of state, President Xi Jinping and President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the FOCAC meeting and President Mnangagwa’s state visit to China. We will be implementing the 10 partnership action plans proposed by the China-African leaders.”
Professor Murwira also met with the outgoing Indonesian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, His Excellency Dewa Juniarta Sastrawan.
“My staying in Zimbabwe as ambassador was very enjoyable. Thank you for supporting us, this cooperation increased our bilateral cooperation,” Ambassador Sastrawan said.
“The visit of the two Vice Presidents to Indonesia during my time as ambassador here is opening the new chapter of our bilateral relations. I would like also to thank particularly the youth of Zimbabwe because they are very interested in our scholarships, and this is one of our achievements in education cooperation.
“Hopefully for the coming years, we can increase more than 100 scholarships from undergraduate, masters, and then for the doctorate level.”
Zimbabwe and Indonesia have entered into agreements in the fields of education, health and energy, among others.
