The Zimbabwean ambassador to Tehran tells the Tehran Times that his country is happy that it has established a “strategic” partnership with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Bright Kupemba says Zimbabwe and Iran are working together to implement joint programs in the health and pharmaceutical sector, agriculture, mining, energy, tourism, science, and technology, and “we are happy to have Iran as a strategic partner in this regard.”
Thank you very much for awarding me this wonderful opportunity to share a point or two on the evolving bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Iran, particularly on the impact of the recent State Visit to Zimbabwe by His Excellency, Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on 13 July 2023.
This was, at all levels, a major milestone that went a long way in strengthening the already existing strong relations between Zimbabwe and Iran.
The visit was a culmination of other significant bilateral engagements and events that have taken place between our two countries in the recent past, including the 9th Session of Zimbabwe-Iran Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation [JPCC] which was held here in Tehran, in February 2023.
Included in this matrix are various ministerial exchanges and private sector interactions, that have been going on between our two peoples over time. So President Raisi’s visit to Zimbabwe is a consequence of several events before his visit and should be taken as part of the broader strategic bilateral cooperation agenda between Zimbabwe and Iran.
Coming to your question, during their engagement in New York in September 2022, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the two principals agreed to deepen cooperation between the two countries and directed that their administrations should develop programs that will strengthen our bilateral cooperation.
The result of this executive directive was the consummation of the 9th Session of the Zimbabwe Iran JPCC, which was held in Tehran in February 2023, as l have mentioned earlier. Several areas of cooperation were identified, discussed and agreed to by the two sides.
To avoid the business-as-usual approach and inertia that characterize the implementation of most bilateral cooperation agreements the world over, President Raisi’s visit, at the invitation of His counterpart, His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, was meant to demonstrate the level of political will and commitment, at the highest levels of both countries, on the need to implement, urgently, all agreed projects and programs between our two countries. That political will and commitment to achieve the desired results for the benefit of our people was necessary, hence the significance of the visit to Harare on deepening bilateral cooperation between the two sides.
Well, this was the highest number of memoranda of understanding that were signed during the trip to the three African countries during President Raisi’s sojourn to the continent. We are very proud of this development because it demonstrates the strong bond of friendship that exists between our two countries over the years and the appetite for connection and cooperation between our peoples.
between the two countries which are poised to cement our people-to-people connections. Significantly, a lot is going on between our two countries and we are happy to have Iran as a strategic partner in this regard.
It goes without saying that the familial or brotherly friendship, existing between President Mnangagwa and President Raisi, is the centerpiece that will inspire the deepening of our bilateral relations with Iran. Together with the existence of historic bonds and mutual interests between our two countries, in relation to both the shared bilateral and multilateral objectives, we can only see an upward trajectory in the deepening of bilateral relations between the two countries under the capable leadership of both Presidents.
President Raisi’s affinity to the Zimbabwean people, which was demonstrated during his recent visit to Zimbabwe, inspires confidence in us that a lot can be achieved under his transformational leadership, which has emphasized the development of stronger cooperation between Iran, its neighbors, the Global South, including African countries like Zimbabwe, and the rest of the world.
This dovetails perfectly with President Mnangagwa’s vision for Zimbabwe, which is also anchored on similar objectives. President Mnangagwa’s mantra is that Zimbabwe shall be “a friend to all and an enemy to none”. So in that regard, the sky is the limit.
Source New Zimbabwe
