Russia and Zimbabwe elevate economic relations

Patrick Musira

Zimbabwe and Russia are moving to profoundly elevate relations in the economic field with Zimbabwe hosting a powerful team of international investors from the latter with interest in the Southern African country.

Led by Honorary Consul of Zimbabwe in Russia, Nikolay Sobolev, the group is in the country for the next 10 days.

The business teams, from a wide array of sectors including agriculture, infrastructure, mining, tourism, renewable energy, medicine and pharmaceutical s, are in meetings that started today.

Bilateral economic relations between Russia and Zimbabwe have been growing since the coming in of the Second Republic with the European giant making its footprint visible especially in gold and diamond mining.

**Hermes Capital Executive Director Olga Dzubinsky**

According to Olga Dzubinsky, executive director at Hermes Capital, the organisation coordinating and facilitating the engagement forum in the country, there is strong appetite from Russian business investor for investment in Zimbabwe.

“Zimbabwe is an ideal investment destination for Russian investors from a various sectors due to its abundant and diverse natural resource base, good climate and a youthful and productive population,” she told Zim Now in an exclusive from their Borrowdale offices in the capital.

“These investment efforts are aimed at strengthening economic relations through partnerships, joint ventures, build-operate-and transfer and build-operate-and-own – all in line with government’s vision for a high-middle-income economy by 2030,”

Local businesses should take advantage of existing relations between the two countries and use these for mutual benefit of their economies, she added.

Giving details of the engagement forums, Dzubinsky advised seriously interested to participate in the one-on-one and business-to-business platforms.

“Legally-registered and operating local businesses should approach our offices at 9 Broadmead Lane in Borrowdale and register to get and details of the business engagements,” she explained.

She reiterated that the oversubscribed forum gives testament to the strengthening relations between the two countries that have been on full display over the last few years.