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Gloria Muruva

Herald Correspondent

The first Zimbabwe-Belarus Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation begins today, with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava hosting his counterpart, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik.

The JPCC runs for three days with the main focus on economic issues.

Zimbabwe and Belarus enjoy strong bonds of friendship and excellent bilateral relations founded on shared historical and socio-economic ties.

The two countries established diplomatic relations on April 16, 1992.

In a statement over the weekend, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokesperson Mr Michael Mukura said: “The JPCC will become the key bilateral mechanism that facilitates cooperation between Zimbabwe and Belarus in areas such as agriculture, mining, trade and investment, tourism and transport.”

The JPCC followed the State visit by Belarusian President Aleksandr  Lukashenko to Zimbabwe in January 2023, which was the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“The operationalisation of the JPCC is a culmination of a memorandum of understanding that was signed during that State visit,” said Mr Mukura.

He said the JPCC will afford the two countries an opportunity to establish bilateral cooperation commitments, as well as explore ways of broadening the scope of collaboration between the two countries.