Zimpapers Logo

Lovemore Mataire Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe is optimistic that current negotiations between Iran and the United Nations Security Council will lead to the lifting of United States imposed economic sanctions that have restricted the country’s trade with well meaning nations. Speaking at the official opening of the Zimbabwe-Iran 8th Joint Commission that started on Monday, Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Cde Joey Bimha, said the meeting was a platform to review progress, identify challenges and agree on priority areas of cooperation.

“We are encouraged by the recent developments that will see Iran finally freed of the unwarranted sanctions it has been subjected to for a long time. We hope that there will be good faith on the part of your partners in the implementation of that agreement,” said Cde Bimha.

He said the commission’s task in the next two days was to take stock of the state of cooperation programmes since the two parties met in October 2012.

Although acknowledging the low trade between the two countries, Cde Bimha commended the contribution of the Iran Red Crescent Society in improving access to medical services by Zimbabweans.

“Beyond the provision of the medical services, I wish to underline the comparative advantage that your country has in the area of pharmaceutical production and training of health workers. This is an area of potential fruitful cooperation between us, especially through the establishment of joint production facilities in Zimbabwe and the exchange of expertise,” Cde Bimha said.

Cde Bimha lamented the slow implementation of some joint venture projects like the Modzone Enterprises.

According to minutes of the last Joint Commission session in Tehran, the Government of Zimbabwe pledged to grant Modzone group of companies’ full debt relief to the Zimbabwean government and affiliated organisations. The Zimbabwean government also pledged to transfer land and buildings owned by Irazim Textiles and Travan Blankets factories to Modzone Group by Agriculture and Rural Development Authority (ARDA).

The co-chair of the 8th Zimbabwe-Iranian Joint Commission, Iranian Deputy Minister International Relations Dr Mohammad Taghi Hosseini, said the two countries must not be held hostage by Western powers’ machinations.

“Mr Ambassador (Cde Bimha), I want to appreciate your comments regarding the current negotiations between Iran and the Western powers. You are familiar with the pressures that they are imposing on us. I want to take this opportunity and say we should not be taken hostage by what they are planning to us.

“As a matter of fact, some arrogant countries don’t want to see us progressing, don’t want to see that we are reaching to the edge of science and technology. They consider that these are the things that they can use them only and other should be secondary in this field. This is what I can a prison of mind that should be broken…All nations have equal rights to benefit from advantages science and technology. We have suffered a lot in this process and fortunately we succeeded,” said Dr Hosseini.

Dr Hosseini said Western nations were so arrogant as to prevent any government from utilising benefits from the advances in science and technology.

“We have to think about benefiting from the advantages of advanced science and technology. We have to work together and I am confident that we will succeed.”

He said his country would always remember Zimbabwe as a country that remained steadfast in its unwavering support of Iran’s sovereignty.

The 8th Zimbabwe-Iran Joint Commission taking place in Harare began on Monday with a meeting of officials from the two countries. The meeting is a follow-up to the one held in Tehran in 2012.