Story by Tichaona Kurewa
FOREIGN Ministers from African and Nordic countries concluded a landmark meeting in Victoria Falls, reaffirming their commitment to deepening strategic cooperation through inclusive and equitable partnerships focusing on trade, innovation, and sustainable development.
The meeting, attended by ministers from Africa and the Nordic region, outlined a joint vision to move from aid-based development models to trade-driven growth.
The ministers pledged to launch bilateral and multilateral programmes aimed at bridging disparities in science, technology, and innovation.
“Africa and Nordic Ministers of Foreign Affairs jointly reaffirmed their commitment to deepening strategic cooperation through inclusive and equitable partnerships based on mutual interest in trade, sustainable development, and economic growth. The meeting committed to launching targeted bilateral and multilateral programmes to bridge disparities in science, technology, and innovation. It also committed to strengthening youth-led innovation ecosystems and ensuring that young voices are systematically integrated into high-level policy dialogues,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Professor Amon Murwira said.
The ministers identified six strategic sectors as priority areas for enhanced cooperation: job creation, migration and diaspora engagement, green mining, clean energy, infrastructure development, and climate-smart agriculture.
They agreed to align policy frameworks and mobilise joint investments in these areas.
“Innovative businesses are the engines of our prosperity and dignity. Our job as politicians is to create the right conditions for them, by lowering trade barriers, simplifying regulations, and ensuring proper infrastructure is in place,” Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Honourable Maria Malmer Stenergard noted.
Sweden will host the next meeting in 2027.
