Togolese president visit to forge ties with Zimbabwe

24 Apr, 2016 - 00:04 0 Views
Togolese president visit to forge ties with Zimbabwe Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé will officially open this year’s Trade Fair

The Sunday News

Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé will officially open this year’s Trade Fair

Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé

Roberta Katunga, Senior Business Reporter
TOGOLESE President His Excellency Mr Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé is expected to be accompanied by a business delegation from the West African country giving an opportunity to forge new trade and investment relations with Zimbabwe.

President Gnassingbe will officially open the 57th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair on Friday.

According to Trade Map, a platform which monitors trade between countries, there is very little trade between Zimbabwe and Togo which has 70 percent of its working population employed in the agriculture sector.

Zimbabwe’s exports to Togo in 2015, according to Trade Map were in the machinery, nuclear reactors and boiler category while imports from Togo were in the electrical, electronic equipment category.

Meanwhile, exhibitors have started arriving in Bulawayo to put final touches to their stands with ZITF general manager Mrs Nomathemba Ndlovu saying the company was still receiving last minute bookings particularly from local companies.

“The stage is now set for the show which begins in a few days time. Walking around the exhibition centre, you will see that it is now a hive of activity as many exhibitors are putting final touches to their stands. We expect the remaining exhibitors to arrive over the course of the weekend,” said Mrs Ndlovu.

Mrs Ndlovu on Friday said 96 percent of space availed had been taken up with 404 direct exhibitors compared to 387 last year. However, she said the number of direct foreign exhibitors, 32, was the same as achieved in 2015.

The countries represented to date include Botswana, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Commenting on the calibre of exhibitors both foreign and local, economists urged the ZITF Company to change its approach of marketing saying the country due to the use of the US dollar was supposed to be attracting more foreign exhibitors.

Mr Kipson Gundani said there was lack of engagement between Zimbabwe and foreign businesses which needed to be amended.

“This is an internal issue and has nothing to do with our macro issues and ZITF should change its marketing approach. As a dollarised economy we should be seeing more businesses exhibiting at the trade fair as trade issues are divorced from investment issues,” he said.

Dr Bongani Ngwenya, a Bulawayo-based economist said it was however, commendable that more local exhibitors were taking part as the trade fair is a platform for networking and showcasing products which will lead to deals being signed and exposure as well as exchange of ideas which would be ideal for the economy.

He said the stagnation in foreign exhibitors is an indicator that more work needs to be done in changing perceptions and engaging the international community.

“People might perceive Zimbabwe as an investment friendly destination but there are those who will continue trading with us despite what the rest of the world says. We need to change those perceptions and restore confidence in our economy,” said Dr Ngwenya.

He said the work that is being done by Government is commendable like the clarification of the indigenisation policy by President Mugabe and the efforts by Finance Minister Chinamasa to mend relations between Zimbabwe and foreign countries.

Business days for this year’s edition of the trade fair are from 26- 28 April while public days are from 29- 30 April.

The annual ZITF International business conference which will be officially opened by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be held on 27 April while a ZITF/ CZI manufacturing forum will be held on 28 April.

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