The inaugural Mid-Term Review of the Zimbabwe and Kenya Joint Permanent Commission ended yesterday amid calls for the implementation of agreements made in various areas that include foreign affairs and security, economic affairs and social cultural issues.
The MTR ended with the signing of the minutes of the meeting between Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador James Manzou and Ambassador George Orina the Director General, Bilateral and Political Affairs in Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.
Ambassador Orina expressed his satisfaction on the outcome of the meeting.
“This positive outcome is an added towards strengthening and advancing our bilateral relations. To date agreements and memoranda of cooperation in various fields have been signed between our two countries and I am pleased that a number of them are in operation and I am now confident that this MTR presented us with an opportunity to renew our efforts to broaden and strengthen our bilateral relations.
“The strides made in the various discussions of the three clusters namely Foreign Affairs and Security, Economic Affairs and Social Cultural issues.
“We can only reap the full benefits of the MoUs and agreements we have discussed once we fully and effectively implement our commitments therein. It is of paramount importance that we continue demonstrating the viability and usefulness of the JPCC mechanism in improving the existing polity of our relations and cooperation,” he said.
He called on the two countries to find ways of addressing any issues that could impede or slow the mutual benefit of their cooperation adding there was still room to further strengthen the bilateral relations.
“The success of this meeting is an important indication of our good friendship and mutual understanding especially on our common desire and commitment to further advance our cooperation. I am confident that this MTR session will serve as a motivation for the finalisation and signing of the draft instruments as well as an inspiration to further broadening our bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of our people and that our competent and relevant authorities will speed up their follow up in order to achieve expected results as laid out in the minutes we are going to sign today (yesterday),” he said.
Ambassador Manzou also called for the implementation of the MTR agreements ahead of the fourth JPCC which will be held in 2024.
“The robust deliberations we have had during these two days gave us an opportunity to look back and, of course, look ahead at how we can become more efficient in deepening cooperation between our two countries, with an entrenched focus on results.
“We were able to reflect on the various factors that promote or hinder performance and we have also managed to shed light on the various areas which require improvement, in order to attain the objectives of our JPCC and ultimately make a difference in the lives of our two peoples,” he said.
Added Ambassador Manzou: “When comparing the present state of cooperation to a couple of years ago, I am encouraged, and hope you are as well, that our resuscitated JPCC is off to a good start.
“We may seem a bit behind schedule in certain areas, but certainly, all areas of focus remain relevant and worthy of pursuit. That is something we should be proud of.
“I hope you will agree with me that, the achievement of real progress depends on our readiness and capacity to implement. As we move forward with renewed energy and zeal, I want to take heed of the fact that our principals are looking up to this MTR to ensure that proposal on paper are swiftly translated into tangible project that genuinely transform the two people’s daily lives.” – The Herald
