Online Reporter
ZIMBABWE and Belarus have taken a step towards establishing a veterinary vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing partnership following the presentation of a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries’ key stakeholders.
The proposed partnership, valued at about US$50 million, brings together Belarusian veterinary biologics manufacturer BelAgroGen and Zimbabwe’s Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS), representing the Government of Zimbabwe.
The draft MoU is now undergoing the relevant Government approval processes and follows bilateral cooperation commitments agreed at the presidential level between Zimbabwe and Belarus in 2025.
The proposed project aims to establish Zimbabwe as a regional centre for the manufacture of veterinary vaccines and pharmaceuticals, supplying both the domestic market and other countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The investment is expected to be implemented in phases, beginning with the supply of BelAgroGen’s registered veterinary vaccines and pharmaceuticals to Zimbabwe, followed by the establishment of local processing and repackaging facilities. The final phase involves the construction and commissioning of a jointly owned veterinary manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe within a targeted three-year period.
BelAgroGen Vice President, Mr Andrei Molchan, said the partnership is intended to strengthen veterinary disease control across the region.
“This is about Zimbabwe taking the lead in protecting the region’s livestock. We are talking about building something that serves all of Southern Africa and building it here,” he said.
The proposed partnership also includes human capital development through scholarships for Zimbabwean students in Belarus, specialist training in veterinary medicine, vaccine research and biotechnology and long-term research collaboration with Belarusian scientific institutions.
