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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
At least 200 German companies have extended an invitation to companies from Manicaland to visit the European country and explore opportunities for partnerships.

The invitation comes in the wake of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s initiative to re-engage with the international community.

Mr Godfrey Barangwe, a Germany-based Zimbabwean businessman, told a business gathering in Mutare recently that the Free State of Bavaria, in eastern Germany, was interested in twinning with Manicaland.

“In Germany, we have what are called family businesses, which are the cornerstone of the German economy,” Mr Barangwe said.

“I am privileged to be part of that family business. Bavaria, in east Germany, would like to twin with a Zimbabwean province – Manicaland to be precise.”

Mr Barangwe said the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Monica Mutsvangwa had been invited to Bavaria next month to meet with some of the companies that wanted to partner local businesses.

“About 200 companies have invited the Minister in April and we hope that she will bring some local companies that would like to twin with those (German) companies in all aspects from agriculture to energy,” said Mr Barangwe.

There has been renewed interest on Zimbabwe by traditional cooperating countries as evidenced by the growing number of envoys dispatched to Harare in the past few months.

Western countries imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe during the reign of former President Robert Mugabe, who stepped down last November.

President Mnangagwa has promised to repair ties with the West, repay Zimbabwe’s foreign debt, compensate white farmers and open up the country to overseas investors, paving the way for re-engagement.