By IANS,
New Delhi : Indian companies were Sunday invited to invest in various sectors in Zimbabwe, including infrastructure development, mining and diamond cutting and polishing.
“I invite the Indian business community to look at various opportunities in Zimbabwe including infrastructure development, communications (sector), mining and tourism,” Zimbabwean Vice President Joice Mujuru said in her address to the eighth India-Africa Project Partnership Summit being held here March 18-20.
“I especially call upon Indian companies in diamond cutting and polishing to come to Zimbabwe. My country is estimated to have nearly 25 percent of the worlds diamond reserves.”
According to Mujuru, the business communities from both sides should identify opportunities that can be taken forward for deepening of economic relations.
“I call upon the business communities from both the sides to identify opportunities that can be utilised for furthering economic collaboration between our countries as well as using the excellent political relations that we have,” she said.
Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma called the deepening of ties between both the sides as a defining partnership of the 21st century.
“Within a decade three of the worlds five major economies will be from Asia, namely India, China and Japan. That’s where the partnership between India and Africa becomes a defining one for the 21st century world,” Sharma said in his address.
“It can bring about transformation at a much faster pace when we share our developmental experiences. This can only be done through institution building between both the sides.”
Sharma added that due to the ethical practices followed by Indian companies, they are a preferred choice for many African markets.
Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Export-Import Bank of India, the conclave is themed as “Creating possibilities: delivering value” and is expected to cover a wide area ranging from leveraging the Indian model for Africa’s growth to funding the growth and partnerships to harness the human potential.
Over 250 projects worth around $30 billion in sectors such as agriculture, communications and pharmaceuticals will also be on the table at the conclave.
The organisers said that the conclave will provide the Indian side an opportunity to explore new avenues for scaling up two-way trade from the current $50 billion to $70 billion in the next two years.
About 1,100 delegates are attending the event including political leaders, government representatives, business heads, bankers and development specialists from 36 African countries.
More than 30 ministers from different sub-Saharan countries are also in attendance at the conclave. A group of 28 young Members of Parliament from 12 countries are also participating.
“There will be sessions covering business opportunities in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, information and communication technologies and agriculture,” said a CII statement.
While Zimbabwe is the focus country, the Central African Republic is the guest country at the event.
Since 2005, the annual conclave has been serving as a platform for Indian and African government agencies and corporates to forge long-term project partnerships.