Türkiye Ambassador to Zimbabwe, HE Berna Kasnakli Versteden together with Turkiye Foreign Affairs Minister and Zimbabwe Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Frederick Shava pose for a photo with Foreign Affairs officials in Harare in 2022 during the Turkiye Foreign Affairs Minister visit to Zimbabwe.
By Dickson Bandera
Diplomatic relations of Turkiye and Zimbabwe have spanned four decades, with a number of trade and investment programmes in various sectors having sailed through over the years.
In 2022, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Türkiye paid a visit to Zimbabwe, first of its kind in the history of the two nations, where a number of trade and iIin 2023, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA)- an agency established to assist foreign investors with all the processes to open and operate a business venture in Zimbabwe- issued five investment licenses to Turkish companies.
In the past 43 years, Zimbabwe has scored great strides in establishing diplomatic ties with the international community and this has resulted in successful trade and investment in agriculture, mining, tourism, energy, infrastructure, education, health among other sectors.
Established in 1982, Zimbabwe-Turkiye relations have grown in leaps and bounces and statistics indicate that bilateral trade volume reached 17,7 million USD in 2019 (Turkish exports: 5.9 million USD, Turkish imports: 11,8 million USD). In 2022, the trade volume reached over US$38 million.
Zimbabwe’s main export items are products from mining and agriculture sector that include platinum, cotton, tobacco, gold, iron, textile and ready wear whereas machinery and vehicles, other finished products, chemicals, fuel and foodstuffs are the main imports.
Currently, Zimbabwe is running a vibrant economic recovery programme, spearheaded by president Emmerson Mnangagwa government, after years of subdued economic development due to the illegal economic sanctions imposed by some Western countries.
The economic recovery programme, under the Engagement and Re-engagment policy as well as the Zimbabwe Is Open for Business Strategy, is hinged on attracting foreign direct investment and efforts have been made to create a conducive business environment where investments are secured and incentiviced.
Through this programme, Zimbabwe has placed priority on positioning itself as an investment destination of choice and ultimately achieve an Upper Middle Income Economy status by the year 2030.
In a wide ranging interview with the Newsreel Zimbabwe, Turkiye Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Her Excellency Berna Kasnakli Versteden hailed the Türkiye Zimbabwe relationship saying her country remains committed to partner Zimbabwe on various developmental programmes.
“Türkiye and Zimbabwe enjoy excellent relations based on mutual respect and fraternity. 2022 was the 40th year of our diplomatic relations. I must say inauguration of the Turkish Embassy in Harare in 2011 and opening of the Embassy of Zimbabwe in Ankara in 2019 provided renewed momentum to our bilateral relations,” she said.
Ambassador Versteden also said the symbiotic relationship was evidenced by the recent high-level visits between Türkiye and Zimbabwe.
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye visited Harare in January, setting the stage for further engagement. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Defence, Honourable Muchinguri, participated for the first time in the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF23) in Istanbul in the month of July 2023. Honourable Shava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe led a large business delegation and participated in the Fourth Türkiye-Africa Business and Trade Forum”.
“Honourable Marapira, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development attended the Kahramanmaraş EXPO in November. Speaking of Kahramanmaraş, let me express our gratitude for the solidarity and support of both the Government and people of Zimbabwe after the devastating earthquakes that struck my country,” said the Ambassador.
The bilateral relations of the two countries should also be considered within the framework of Türkiye – Africa partnership, says the ambassador. Having historic and cultural ties with the continent, Türkiye’s relations with Africa have accelerated over the past 20 years.
“As a strategic partner of the African Union (AU), we have organized three Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summits. Each summit made significant contributions to the multilateral and bilateral relations with African nations in various fields including trade, investment, culture and security. Zimbabwean high-level participation made important contributions to the success of each Summit,” she said.
Going forward, the ambassador underscored that Turkiye remains committed to scale up the Turkiye Zimbabwe relations, building from the existing mutual ties.
“We have the will to expand bilateral trade and economy relations. Given the cordial relations between Türkiye and Zimbabwe, it is imperative to make the most of our potential in trade and investment. We should concentrate on raising the volume of our bilateral commerce through broadening our business and diversifying partnerships in trade, agriculture, green energy, infrastructure, health and education.
“The “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra is an important guideline for Turkish business circles in this regard. We are working on finalizing the legal framework by concluding the agreements pertaining to economic and trade relations. To sum up, we are fully committed to further enhance bilateral trade and business relations,” she reiterated.
Apart from facilitating trade and investment, the Turkish embassy in Harare has over the years engaged in various community development programmes in areas such a as sinking community boreholes, providing needs for people with disabilities, donating food to the vulnerable, among other programmes.
On October 29, Turkiye celebrated the centennial anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye with pride and joy in Türkiye and all around the world. To mark this special occasion, the Turkiye Embassy in Harare had special activities that include planting 100 trees in Harare in a school garden.
Ambassador Versteden commented on the importance of planting trees, saying they are part of the solution to climate change.
“I believe our trees will contribute to the environment and create a greener, more sustainable future for Harare. The trees are a remedy to climate change. We are happy they will be looked after by the next generations,” she added.
