The Sunday News
The first Australian business delegation in more than 23 years will visit Zimbabwe and will visit the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair which begins in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
In a statement Ambassador Joe Tapera Mhishi revealed that the business delegation arrives in Harare on 22 April, 2024 on a business exploratory
mission. The delegation coming from the city of Melbourne will participate at the ZITF from 23 – 26 April, 2024.
The visit to the ZITF marks the first such visit by an Australian business delegation in over 23 years.
The visit comes against the backdrop of the foreign policy of the Second Republic
focused on affirmation, engagement and re-engagement. In particular the pursuit of
economic diplomacy by the Second Republic.
A major highlight of the visit will be meetings between the visitors, government, the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) and other private sector players, aimed at exploring prospects of setting up in Zimbabwe an advanced livestock genetics project, amongst other collaborative opportunities.
The delegation consists of members of the
Australian based Zimbabwean diaspora, and businessmen including Mr James Scuderi, co-Founder of GLOSTA and Group Executive Director of the GETC Group – and Mr. Koby Jones, Founder and CEO of SILC Group, one of Australia’s leading independent fund trustees and management groups, with over $2.8Billion AUD under supervision. Further,
Dr. Rajneesh Verma, a renowned adyanced animal genetics expert is attending in his
capacity as Senior Division Lead of the GLOSTA Livestock Sciences and Horticulture
division. Dr Verma’s innovative scientific know-how includes creating cattle in a
laboratory. “We always hear that animals are born through natural breeding …but
selecting an animal’s health, its characteristics and its gender in the lab and making an
embryo outside of the animal’s body ….then implanting it in the uterus of female
ecipients can actually give a confirmed pregnancy and a healthy new born calf”, says
Dr Verma speaking from Thailand where he conducts work in advanced livestock
genetics.
An advanced livestock genetics project in Zimbabwe, would dovetail well and expedite
work on the government’s Zimbabwe National Beef Herd Growth Program and the
Zimbabwe National Dairy Herd Breeding Strategy, respectively
The working program for the delegation includes meetings with the Ministry of Mines
and Mining Development. There is interest in the delegation to invest in Zimbabwe’s
mining sector with focus on gold, gold & copper and lithium. A meeting with government
and the Chinhoyi University of Technology is also scheduled to discuss building student
accommodation for the university.
Additional meetings are scheduled with the Minerals Marketing Cooperation of
Zimbabwe (MMCZ) focused on the purchase of some samples of Zimbabwean
minerals. The delegation will also hold meetings with ZIDA, ZimTrade, ZERA, the
Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, the Horticultural Development Council of Zimbabwe,
among others
