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Business Reporter

THE Zimbabwe-Dubai Trade and Investment Conference is underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today where 50 local businesses are participating under a packed programme aimed at highlighting the country’s vast economic opportunities and enticing more potential investors.

Industry and Commerce Minister, Dr Sekai Nzenza, who is leading the country’s delegation to this conference delivered her keynote opening remarks at 10AM following an earlier welcome address by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to UAE, Mr Lovemore Mazemo, and a presentation on trade opportunities for Zimbabwe in the UAE, delivered by ZimTrade CEO, Mr Allan Majuru.

The director of international affairs in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Omar Khan, made a presentation on opportunities for trade and focused on possible synergies between the two countries.

Today’s proceedings are organised in terms of panel discussions, which allow intense engagements and question time for buyers and potential investors.

Zimbabwe is participating at the on-going Expo 2020 Dubai, which is being held in the UAE under the theme ‘Connecting minds, creating the future.

The theme is meant to highlight milestones that can be achieved when meaningful collaborations and partnerships are forged.

The Expo theme is supported by three subthemes, which are considered to be the timeless drivers of progress that continue to inspire people, organizations, and nations in their endeavours to create a better future. The sub-themes are Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.

The country is participating in the Opportunities cluster under the theme: ‘Zimbabwe, a land of great opportunities’.

Several events have been lined up to support Zimbabwe’s participation at the six-month Expo, which began in October last year and ends next month.

These include participation at the recently concluded Global Business Forum for Africa, the Smart Cities Conference, Mines and Minerals Conference, Zimbabwe Tourism Conference, The Agriculture Conference and Zimbabwe National Day, among other small events, which will be held in the pavilion.

As part of the Expo programme, ZimTrade is facilitating this week’s Trade and Investment Conference, which consists of business-to-business meetings with Zimbabwean companies and organisations, company and site visits to potential investors and buyers in Dubai from 15-16 February 2022.

Participating companies are drawn from the following sectors: fresh fruits and vegetables, FMCG, energy, mining, finance, leather and leather products, travel and tourism, clothing and textiles and agriculture, among other sectors.

According to ZimTrade, among the objectives of this week’s conference is to seal investment deals in various investment projects available in Zimbabwe, generate export orders, gather market intelligence on global trade and identify and sign MOUs with various institutions to promote Zimbabwe’s trade and investment opportunities.

The target participants  are mainly potential investors in areas of agriculture, mining, tourism, ICT, finance, infrastructure development, manufacturing, industrial hemp, value addition and mineral beneficiation.