Minister of Industry and Commerce Minister, Mike Bimha, says as part of Zimbabwe’s re-engagement efforts with the Western countries, the country has made strides in luring potential exhibitors for this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, which is slated for April 24 to 28.
Bimha told journalists in Harare that he met with British business people during the just ended World Economic Forum meeting in Davos where the Zimbabwean delegation held discussions with various companies who showed interest in exhibiting at the 59th edition of the show.
“We had some discussions with some representatives of some British companies while at Davos and there was an interest (to exhibit).
“Whether that interest will be realized now is for us to see, but there is so much happening that we might not have all the interested companies coming for this year’s show. This is because the process of exhibiting is not a day event so some of them we might be seeing them in the next edition,” he said.
Bimha said with the new government led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the country is now open to do business, even with the so called Western enemies.
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He said Zimbabwe has, for long, suffered in isolation, hence has been lagging behind in development.
Just recently, the Theresa May (British Ambassador) administration announced that it will be sending an envoy to map some re-engagements efforts with Harare.
The United States Of America announced on its micro-blogging site, Twitter, that Harare should brace for business people who are coming to explore investment opportunities.
Bimha added that foreign interest at the exhibition has been high with confirmed foreign representation coming from Ethiopia, Japan, India and the Republic of South Africa.
He also said local interest in the show has also been high, particularly from enterprises who wish to use the event as a showcase for home-grown industrial and technology solutions.
ZITF General Manager, Nomathemba Ndlovu said in keeping with the re-engagement efforts, the country has invited observers to see what Zimbabwe is doing,
She added that more 21 Direct Foreign Exhibitors have confirmed their participation, an increase from 16 recorded last year.
This year’s edition will run under the theme, “Sustainable Industrial Development – Inclusive. Competitive. Collaborative.”
