Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
PAKISTAN’s top envoy to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Murad Baseer has reaffirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties with Zimbabwe, particularly in the areas of defence and economic cooperation.
After paying a courtesy call on Defence Minister Honourable Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri in Harare this Friday, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Murad Baseer, highlighted the rich history of cooperation between the two countries, emphasising Pakistan’s eagerness to engage in commercial activities.
“The areas we can cooperate in are many. I feel we would make headway in agriculture as one, which is our forte as well. Zimbabwe is an agrarian economy and one of the six main, sectors which are going to develop in the next, two decades or so, which will be a source of employment for the younger people,” Ambassador Basser said.
“As you know, Africa is and will be double the population that it is today. By 2050, there will be three billion plus, people here. So to cater for that, agriculture is one of the sectors I believe is key and where we can help, not just in research, but also in the development of agriculture tools, machinery, and tractors.
“I think we can work a lot in the pharmaceutical sector because Pakistan has a rising pharmaceutical sector, a very growing, rapidly growing sector and we can chip in and, you know, assist Zimbabwe in developing those kinds of medicines. I even tell these businessmen that Zimbabwe is a place to invest and Africa as a whole is a place to invest.
“The third sector is the IT sector. It IS also is big in Pakistan and our companies are doing extremely well.”
Ambassador Baseer also highlighted the importance of capacity building, training, and partnership in achieving Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063, aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area.
