PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday held high level bilateral talks with his Egyptian counterpart, President Adbel Fattah El-Sisi, on the sidelines of the 58th African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meetings here where the two leaders discussed various areas of economic co-operation for the mutual benefit of their countries.
The President is part of thousands of delegates attending the 58th annual meetings of the AfDB that coincide with the African Development Fund’s 49th meeting of the board of governors.
The areas of co-operation the two leaders discussed have potential to transform Zimbabwe in health, clean energy, agriculture and urban renewal programmes.
President Mnangagwa’s delegation that attended the bilateral meeting comprised of Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Cde Joram Gumbo, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Egypt, Air Marshal Retired Shebba Shumbayawonda and senior officials.
Speaking to The Herald after the meeting, Presidential spokesperson, Mr George Charamba, said President Mnangagwa was grateful to President El-Sisi for extending an invitation to him to attend the AfDB meetings as this afforded him an opportunity to discuss how Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance and debt can be resolved.
The AfDB champion to arrears clearance and debt resolution, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, who is also the continental bank’s president, has set aside time today to facilitate dialogue between Zimbabwe and representatives of creditor nations on the sidelines of the summit.
“President Mnangagwa and President El-Sisi explored the relations between the two countries and we have four areas that came under discussion. The first issue was on ongoing co-operation between Zimbabwe and Egypt to revamp our pharmaceutical industry. As you are aware there was a delegation that came from Egypt before we came here that inked some deals to support the health sector,” Mr Charamba said.
The two leaders also looked at the energy sector with a view to exploring developments in the provision of clean and sustainable energy in line with the theme of the AfDB summit.
The AfDB annual meeting that started on Monday and ends on Friday, is running under the theme, “Mobilising Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa”. This is on the back of devastating effects of climate change and limited resources that are being drip fed into the continent by the West.
As such, all the leaders who spoke during the summit emphasised the need for sustainable climate change and adaptation financing and to effectively use resources from other sources diligently for the benefit of the continent that is suffering heavily from the effects of climate change.
The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the AfDB Group penned a memorandum of understanding for the hosting of the 2023 annual meetings in September last year. Egypt is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa with the World Bank putting its Gross Domestic Product at US$404,14 billion in 2021, while latest reports put it at US$1.3 trillion.
President Mnangagwa and his Egyptian counterpart President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi join other Heads of State and delegates for a group photo at the AfDB annual meetings at the Capital Hall, in Sharm El- Sheikh Resort City, Egypt yesterday. – Picture: Presidential Photographer Tawanda Mudimu
However, according to the country’s trade lobby organisation, ZimTrade, trade volumes between the two countries in 2022 stood at US$44 million imports and US$10 million exports to Egypt.
“Egypt has one of the largest solar projects on the continent in an area close to Assani Dam which generates close to 2000 megawatts and this is in line with the huge solar energy revolution and the theme of this conference. There are several lessons from Egypt that Zimbabwe can learn and replicate,” Mr Charamba said.
He said President Mnangagwa and his counterpart also spoke about co-operation among many African countries and one of the major issues discussed was the ongoing construction of the African Liberation Museum in Warren Park where the Arab Republic of Egypt is a co-funder.
“There is a historical note to that. Our President trained with the Egyptian Army in the early 1960s when the Arab State was under President Gamal Abdel Nasser. The President is attached to this country and these meetings open a new era and chapter in co-operation in the area of security between the two countries,” Mr Charamba said.
Zimbabwe is in the process of developing a new city in the Mt Hamden area where a state-of the art new Parliament building has been constructed, while other new projects including a shopping complex, houses and other supporting infrastructure are under consideration.
Mr Charamba said a lot of architectural designs were borrowed from Egypt.
“The two Presidents also looked at the area of the construction of new cities. When we were planning the construction of the new city in Mt Hampden, the President sent the Minister of Local Government, Cde July Moyo, to Egypt to understand how they undertook the new cities they are building – looking at the architecture, building of roads and other supporting infrastructure. The Minister presented a report that was accepted and implemented by the Government. We are building the new city using a blue print from the Egyptians. So the construction of smart cities is a critical area that came under the spotlight,” he said.
In his quest not to leave anyone and any place behind when it comes to economic empowerment, President Mnangagwa and his counterpart spent sometime discussing the fisheries business and the value chains associated with the sector.
The Egyptians do a lot fisheries business along the Nile River and as such, in line with Zimbabwe’s community development mantra, Mr Charamba said Government was working on a programme for every village to have a fish farm and even proceed to have canning factories.
He said the two leaders also shared notes on the situation in Sudan where Zimbabwe in collaboration with other countries successfully evacuated its nationals. – The Herald
