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Mukudzei Chingwere–Herald Reporter

Egyptian companies in many sectors have been inquiring about possibilities of investing in Zimbabwe and high level discussions between the two governments could add impetus to their quest, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Egypt, Air Marshall (Retired) Shebba Shumbayawonda, has said.

In a recent interview, Ambassador Shumbayawonda said the Embassy had been receiving investment inquiries from companies keen to travel with Zimbabwe on its economic transformation journey.

Inquiries are in areas such as manufacturing, health and agriculture.

Egypt is the second largest economy in Africa and an able ally to assist the attainment of Vision 2030 of an empowered upper middle income society.

According to the World Bank, Egypt has remained one of the few countries that maintained a positive growth during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ambassador Shumbayawonda is confident that most of the proposals will come to fruition after the visit of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga to Cairo, which has somewhat worked as a surety on Zimbabwe’s willingness to do business with global companies.

“It is an honour for the Vice President to visit us at such a time when we are trying to build and strengthen our relations between Egypt and Zimbabwe.

“There are companies that are coming to the Embassy enquiring about doing business in Zimbabwe. Some are into steel making, value addition, some are into food processing and others in value addition.”

Some Egyptian companies in the manufacture of agricultural equipment want have expressed interest in sell their equipment to Zimbabwe and setting up companies in the country.

Added Ambassador Shumbayawonda: “When companies see that there is political will, and political support, they are more free to engage with us.

“Companies are people investing their money and they are a bit cautious when it comes to investment, but when they hear from the highest echelons of the Government, they are much more comfortable that way.”

Vice President Chiwenga was in Egypt for the African Health Exhibition and Conference, but took advantage of his brief stay to engage the hosts on several economic aspects.

He engaged with Egypt Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, and the two discussed the strong bilateral relations that exist between the two countries.