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Herald Reporter

President Mnangagwa yesterday sent off newly-appointed Ambassador-designate Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Malaysia, Mrs Constance Chemwayi who is set to assume her tour of duty in Kuala Lumpur.

In an interview after a meeting with President Mnangagwa at State House, Mrs Chemwayi pledged to deepen bilateral relations between Harare and Kuala Lumpur.

She described bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Malaysia as good.

“Very cordial, they are very warm. My assignment is to go and deepen those relations that already exist between the two countries. We have political, economic, social, and cultural relations, my assignment is to take them to another level. As you know, we have a foreign policy thrust on economic diplomacy so I will ensure that our economic diplomacy goes to a higher level,” said Mrs Chemwayi.

She said there were Zimbabwean students in Malaysia and it will be the responsibility of the embassy to take care of their interests.

“Remember we also have a strong contingent of Zimbabwean students mainly in Malaysia, as a mission our role is to ensure that their interests are also safeguarded as well as other Zimbabweans in the diaspora.”

Ambassador Chemwayi will be representing Zimbabwe in other countries that include Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Mrs Chemwayi is a career diplomat who joined the Foreign Services in 1991 after graduating from the University of Zimbabwe.

She rose through the ranks from administrative officer to director, a position she held until she was appointed ambassador.

Ambassador-designate Chemwayi was first posted in Pretoria, South Africa as First Secretary/Counsellor and later as Minister Counsellor in Paris, France.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade she has worked in various positions and bilateral and multilateral desks such as protocol, consular, information, human resources, policy research, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation.

At the time of her latest appointment, she was the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Yesterday’s event was also attended by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Acting Minister Professor Amon Murwira, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry, Ambassador James Manzou, Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications,) Mr George Charamba and other senior Government officials.