The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Correspondent
ZIMBABWE and Russia are celebrating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations which stretches from the days of the liberation struggle, to the battle against Covid-19 with calls for cooperation to endure beyond the auspicious celebrations.
The 18th of February is a date to cherish within diplomatic corridors as the establishment of these relations came at a time when the Russian Federation had played a pivotal role by providing moral, diplomatic and material support for the struggle that eventually gave birth to a new Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980.
In a statement to mark the 40th Anniversary, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Acting Minister Prof Amon Murwira said the relations have seen significant growth in different socio-economic facets through different programmes and areas of cooperation.
“Over the years, the cooperation between the two countries has grown both in its strength and scope with the Russian Federation continuing to provide annual scholarships to Zimbabwe for training in a wide range of fields of academic and professional endeavour, that include medicine, engineering, journalism and many others,” he said.
He added that the two countries have also concluded several developmental instruments that include the Zimbabwe – Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.
Prof Murwira said these areas of cooperation underpin the two countries’ decades old partnership which in recent times had seen the opening up of new frontiers of possible cooperation in various sectors, including energy, science and technology development, and mining, the latter in which were flagship projects that were on-stream in the fields of platinum and diamond extraction.
While calling for the cooperation between the two countries to continue to endure well, Minister Murwira described the relationship as one that has stood the test of time. He paid gratitude to Russia for solidly standing with Zimbabwe in hard economic times and in the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic where Russia has expressed committment to assist Zimbabwe.
“The time-tested relationship between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation, whose longevity is being celebrated today, has again been manifest in the Government of people of the Russian Federation’s assistance to Zimbabwe since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, through the provision of much needed equipment and a life saving vaccine to help in the fight against the devastating global scourge.
“May the relationship of cooperation between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation continue to endure well beyond these auspicious celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries,” he said.
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