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Prisca Murwira in DUBAI

The Commissioner-General of the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai Engineer Hussain Hanbazaza yesterday paid a courtesy call on the Zimbabwe Pavilion Commissioner-General Ambassador Mary Mubi.

Speaking after meeting Eng Hanbazaza, who was accompanied by protocol officer Abdulrhman Turki, Ambassador Mubi said: “Zimbabwe has pristine weather surrounded by its friendly people. We aim to achieve the smart cities concept as we are also learning from what others have done.

“We are developing a new Parliament just outside the capital, Harare. One of the things that we are envisaging is a new smart city and we are looking for all these experiences and we know that with your human capital, which is one of the themes we are also emphasising here, you are doing great things in your own country.”

She said Zimbabwe hoped to learn from Saudi Arabia and also share some opportunities in the country particularly in agriculture, mining, tourism and human capital.

In his remarks Eng Hanbazaza said: “This is a beautiful journey as we visit and share experiences with other countries.

“It is nice to be here as we share our vision. The Kingdom is open for opportunities, opening our borders for tourism, asking people to come and invest in Saudi Arabia and vice versa, as one nation cannot thrive by itself.

“This is what we believe and this is what our Government and the Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, also believe in.

“We have a new city coming called Niom and it is going to use renewable energy. No cars are needed as you don’t need to travel far away to go to work, to school as everything is just five minutes away from you.”

Saudi Arabia would look into forming strategic partnerships and to share knowledge with the rest of the world.

“Definitely with your country, the relationship has been there and as you said it’s now an era of being in strategic partnership.

“We are here to learn more about Zimbabwe.

“I am here to enjoy the culture and when I walked into the pavilion, I heard the music and already I am experiencing a beautiful culture. I look forward to take whatever opportunity that I will grasp here and share with my team.”