Story by Owen Mandovha, Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE and Zambia are seeing opportunities for trade growth between them as another direct flight has been added between Harare and Lusaka.
The addition of the new direct route between Harare and Lusaka, which is Fasjet’s first, is essential in many respects as it harnesses economic diplomacy as illustrated by Zimbabwe’s Envoy to Zambia, Ambassador Charity Charamba, who was a passenger in the inaugural flight to Lusaka this Wednesday morning.
“Many students are studying here and one university has over 6000 Zimbabwean students, which makes it necessary to have such a flight. Business-wise, we have so many business owners of Zimbabwean origin who are domiciled here and this offers them more convenience. The development offers opportunities to further enhance trade ties between Zimbabwe and Zambia. We are pursuing economic diplomacy and this flight will give an impetus to that goal,” she said.
Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Honourable Joshua Sacco says the government is reaping the fruits of upgrading its airport infrastructure as regional connectivity increases.
“We are excited as a country to note that many airlines are now expanding routes because we now have world-class airport infrastructure, which rivals any other hence we see opportunities to grow trade between the two countries.”
Zambia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, Honourable Frank Tayali welcomed this as yet another window of opportunity to elevate trade ties between the two countries.
“As Zambia, we are very happy that FastJet has launched this route as the two countries enjoy cordial relations. We look forward to tremendous relationships with all stakeholders.”
Many regional and international airlines have either launched new routes or re-launched old routes in Zimbabwe, as the country continues to become a favourite investment and business destination.
