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Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent

THE visit by a delegation from the Russian Federation serves to indicate the strong bilateral relations that exist between the two countries, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk Region, Mr Vyacheslav Yarin said yesterday.

Minister Yarin said their delegation is in Zimbabwe to explore business opportunities, while also marketing opportunities that exist in their country for local businesspeople to explore.

Speaking at a stakeholder meeting with businesspeople in Harare yesterday, Minister Yarin said the interaction between the Sverdlovsk Region and Zimbabwe “is dynamic and fruitful”.

“Today, Zimbabwe is among the top 20 African countries which the Sverdlovsk Region has foreign trade relations with.

“I am told that today’s forum will be a useful platform for the development of our cooperation,” Minister Yarin said.

He said the Sverdlovsk Region is a major industrial hub of Russia located in the central part of Russia, on the border of Europe and Asia, at the intersection of major railway, road and air routes.

“There are almost 13 000 industrial enterprises operating there. Traditionally, strong industries are metallurgy and machinery.

“Chemistry, pharmaceuticals, logistics, information, technology and medical equipment manufacturing, are also successfully developed in the Sverdlovsk Region.

“The Sverdlovsk Region’s foreign trade includes more than 150 foreign countries and we are in the top 10 constituency building of the Russian Federation, which constitutes more than half the whole industry and production shift in the country,” said Minister Yarin.

Russia’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Sverdlovsk Region, Igor Zelenkin, said they were ready to cooperate with their Zimbabwean counterparts.

“Our region is defined by the development of its industry and rich resources. About 76 percent of this is based on metallurgy, machinery and chemicals.

“Mechanical engineering enterprises have a high innovation and investment potential in Russia. We are also leaders in the production of titanium alloy and other copper and aluminium products. We also produce precious metals,” he said.

Deputy Minister Igor said machinery was one of the areas they were interested in, on their cooperation with Zimbabwe.

He said they were producing machinery for the mining industry and they also provide power solutions for energy production of up to 700MW.

Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Midlands Province, Larry Mavima, said the delegation was in the country to explore business opportunities and economic cooperation.

“It is critical to underscore that the visit by the Russian delegation is coming at the backdrop of the excellent bilateral ties between Zimbabwe and Russia.

“The relationship dates back to the era of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle. On behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe, let me express our utmost appreciation to the Russian Federation who recently stood by Zimbabwe at the United Nations against the imperialist machinations by the West for imposing illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe.”

Minister Mavima said it had become imperative for the cordial relations between Russia and Zimbabwe to be further enriched through implementation of concrete economic programmes and projects for the two countries’ mutual benefit.

In a speech read on her behalf, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said Russia and Zimbabwe have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship that dates back to the pre-independence era and during the liberation struggle.

“This relationship has cascaded into a good standing with Russia’s neighbours such as the Republic of Belarus who visited Zimbabwe just over a month ago,” she said.

“We are excited to experience an expansion of a window of opportunity in the Eurasian region for our exporters. In this regard, I exhort the private sector to take advantage of such a corridor to explore new markets in this region.”

During the visit, the Russian delegation is expected to tour industrial sites specialising in machinery and equipment for timber processing, the production of rubber and pharmaceutical substances.