Business
Zimbabwe engages BRICS for investment and trade
“The role of trade in economic growth and development in the face of globalization needs no emphasis,” Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube said.
“The policy (national trade) sets out the key principles and strategies to drive the economy towards export orientation and international competitiveness in order to transform Zimbabwe from being an exporter of primary commodities to an exporter of value added high quality processed goods and services.”
Currently the world’s biggest economy after the USA, China has shown great appetite for Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth as it sought to power its super-fast growing economy and meet rising demand among its huge population.
Zimbabwe has the second-largest known platinum deposits in the world after South Africa and 20 percent of world diamond reserves, according to global mining industry statistics.
According to Chinese customs data, China-Zimbabwean trade had risen by 62.2 percent to US$717.3 million in the third quarter of 2011 alone. In the same period Chinese investors had pledged to earmark about US$700 million towards developing the mining sector.
Trade between India and Zimbabwe has doubled to US$125 million in the four years to 2010-11, India’s Commerce Ministry has said.
But despite its long-standing strong relations with Zimbabwe, Russia’s US$20 million trade with it appears to be a far cry when compared with its BRICS counterparts.
