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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Fredrick Shava, has opened the First Session of the Zimbabwe-Belarus Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC).
Honourable Sergei Aleinik, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and Co-Chair of the First (1st) Session of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Belarus was in attendance at the official opening in Harare today.
Ambassador Rofina Chikava, Acting Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Co-Chair of the Senior Officials Meeting; Mr. Yuri Nikolaychik, the Head of the Department of Africa and the Middle East, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and Co-Chair of the Senior Officials Meeting; Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Ihar Marshalau; and Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the Republic of Belarus, Ambassador Ignatius Mudzimba were also among senior dignitaries in attendance.
Minister Shava applauded the excellent bilateral relations that exist between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Belarus, which have continued to grow at an exponential rate as illustrated by the frequent exchange of high-level visits and continuous engagements by the two Presidents at various fora, the most recent being the meeting between the two Presidents on the sidelines of COP 28 that was held in Dubai in December 2023. The Presidents were also together on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Kampala, Uganda, where we discussed issues of mutual interest.
He added that the year 2023 was significant in the countries’ relationship, as it witnessed the signature of several Memoranda of Understanding, Agreements, and Commercial Contracts during the State Visit by His Excellency President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Among them was the Agreement on the Establishment of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation, which gave impetus to this inaugural session of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation between our sisterly countries.
The other legal instruments that were signed before and during the State visit include the following:
- MoU between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus on Political Consultations.
- MoU between the Ministry of Lands, Fisheries, Agriculture, Water and Rural Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus on Co-operation in the Field of Agriculture.
- MoU between the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus on Cooperation in the Field of Tertiary, Higher Education, Science and Technology.
- MoU between the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the State Committee on Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus on Co-operation in Science, Technology and Innovation.
- Agreement between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Belarus on the Promotion of and Reciprocal Protection of Investments; and
- Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion concerning Taxes on Income and Property.
Furthermore, two Agreements were signed between the two countries recently. These include the Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus; and the MoU on Cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Belarus, which was signed on 24 January and 31 January 2024, respectively.
Honourable Sergei Aleinik said the relations between Minsk and Harare are friendly, trustful, and productive because they are based on the clear political will to implement joint projects for the benefit of the countries and their people.
“The foundation of our cooperation is trusting relations between our two leaders and a mutually beneficial partnership based on honest and time-tested relations. My brother Frederick made a very comprehensive overview of the history of our bilateral relations and in recent years we have indeed witnessed a significant increase of the contacts between Belarus and Zimbabwe at different levels, including the highest one.
“I am gratified by the fact that all agreements and understandings reached during the historical state visit of His Excellency, President of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko to Harare in January 2023 are being implemented. I am confident that the dialogue we are having today will contribute to the further implementation of all these agreements,” he said.
A lot has been done to convert friendly relations between the two leaders into the promotion of practical bilateral projects in the fields of industry, agriculture, science and technology, healthcare, education, and culture, as well as to gradual growth of bilateral trade turnover in the last five years.
The bilateral trade turnover grew eight times in 2023, and more than 15 Zimbabwean delegations, including the First Lady, Her Excellency Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa, and Ambassador Frederick Shava, visited Minsk.
It is important to also note that the following commercial contracts were signed during the State Visit by His Excellency President Lukashenko to Zimbabwe, and to reiterate the need to expeditiously implement these contracts, which include the following:
- A contract between the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe and “Aftrade DMCC” on cooperation in the supply of Belarusian tractors and grain harvesting equipment;
- A contract between the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe and “Aftrade DMCC” for the supply of equipment manufactured in Belarus for the construction and modernization of grain storage complexes; and
- MoU on Cooperation in the framework of supplies to the Republic of Zimbabwe of machines and equipment produced in Belarus for the timber industry.
Negotiations are ongoing to finalise the following Draft Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding between the two sides:
- Draft Agreement on the Exemption of Visas for Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports;
- Draft Treaty on Extradition;
- Draft Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Establishment of a Road Transport Joint Venture; and Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.