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Maxwell Tapatapa-Herald Reporter

The second session of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC) between Zimbabwe and Rwanda opened yesterday with both countries overwhelmed by the positive results attained by the JPCC since its inception two years ago.

The first session was held virtually, from March 16 to March 18, 2021 and memorandums of understanding were signed in the fields of diplomacy, trade and investment, justice and media, communication and publicity. 

The two sides explored new areas of bilateral cooperation including in finance, defence, environment, natural resources, agriculture, science and technology as well as tourism. 

In his opening remarks at the second session of the JPCC in Harare, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Permanent Secretary Ambassador James Manzou said in two years, the countries had witnessed tangible progress.

“It has been only two years since we embarked on the journey of our Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation; yet, already, I am amazed at how much has been achieved in such a short space of time. Generally, most of our areas of cooperation have been up to the task.”

“I am glad to note the positive growth in our political and diplomatic consultations on bilateral, continental and international issues of mutual concern and interest.

“Furthermore, I welcome the positive steps that are being made by our two countries in forging cooperation in the areas of justice and public security,” said Ambassador Manzou.

The extradition Treaty and the MoU on immigration were among the three important instruments of bilateral cooperation that were signed in July 2022.

These two instruments complimented other legal instruments in cooperation that had since been signed between the two countries.

Ambassador Manzou hailed the trade relations between the two countries and praised two trade development agencies, ZimTrade and the Rwanda Development Board, for their continued efforts to give business sectors an opportunity to meet through the trade and investment conferences convened annually since 2021. 

“Nevertheless, I believe there is still room for improvement since the potential is much greater than what has been achieved so far. For example, we need to put in place a mechanism for coordinated customs cooperation to tame all revenue leakages and reduce the tax burden on individuals and businesses operating in both countries through an MoU on customs cooperation,” said Ambassador Manzou.

Ambassador Manzou also chronicled cooperation in the area of energy which has seen a partnership between Zesa and the Rwanda Energy Group.

“Through that framework, various areas of co-operation were agreed upon under the total electrification programme, whose main deliverables include the stand-alone solar home systems, rural electrification, smart metering, as well as the national public street lighting project for provincial capitals.”

The Ambassador said success was also recorded in tourism and agriculture after an MoU was signed in September 2021.

With regards to cooperation in the field of environment and climate change, Rwanda invited Zimbabwe to participate in the inaugural Africa Protected Areas Summit held in Kigali in August 2022. 

“Another key highlight of this session will be the signing of the MoU on cooperation in the field of higher and tertiary education, science and technology development. 

“This instrument is vital because, in this day and age, as has been demonstrated by your country’s great leap forward, the progressive development of society is inextricably embedded in the adoption of modern technologies which are an indispensable enabler of economic development.”

“It is therefore imperative that the signed MoU on cooperation in the field of Information Communication Technologies and e-governance be made more active,” said Ambassador Manzou.

In the social affairs cluster the dispatch of the first batch of over 156 teachers and lecturers to Rwanda under the framework of the MoU on the Exchange of Educational Personnel and Expertise stands out as an outstanding testimony to the seriousness of the decisions that are made in the joint commission.