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Prisca Murwira in DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

The Zimbabwe Mining Investment Conference has been slated for next week here on the sidelines of the Expo 2020 Dubai.

Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando is expected to attend the conference which will run under the theme “Zimbabwe: Accelerating Growth Through Value Addition”.

Zimbabwe is among 192 nations participating at the expo.

Aimed at attracting international investors to Zimbabwe, the conference will be accessed on online platforms.  The mining sector is expected to play a fundamental role in the speedy attainment of the country’s vision of becoming an upper-middle income society by 2030 and is one of Zimbabwe’s key strategic sectors participating at the exposition.

The country is endowed with a diversified mineral resources base of over 60 minerals and aims to generate annual revenue of US$12 billion by 2023.

A US$12 billion mining industry has been identified as one of the pillars towards the achievement of an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

Expo 2020 Dubai is an ideal platform to showcase Zimbabwe’s mining and mineral potential in efforts to attract investment into the country’s mining sector.

The Second Republic, under the leadership of President Mnangagwa, is making great strides in facilitating exploration and establishment of new mines, re-opening of closed ones, capacity utilisation, beneficiation and value addition of minerals in addition to expansion of projects subject to various commercial and economic models. This has seen the reopening of Eureka Gold Mine in Guruve in 2018 which had been idle for 15 years.

The high-level conference will be attended by existing and potential investors, members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy, mining parastatals, Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Miners Federation members, among others, who will be showcasing existing and planned projects and the vast investment opportunities in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.

Expo 2020 themed weeks will see subjects of what is being showcased by countries changing from time to time in efforts to diversify the exhibition to avoid monotony.

Last week was the Urban and Rural Development week, which saw Zimbabwe hosting successfully the Smart Cities and Innovation Conference which was graced by Mr Dawood AlHajri, director-general of Dubai Municipality. Keen interest was expressed in the areas of solar energy, green architecture or cities and artificial intelligence, towards providing smart city solutions in Zimbabwe.

Based on the themed weeks the Government through its various Ministries diarised an events calendar which will see Government host events at Expo 2020 in efforts to show case opportunities in its key sectors.

Major highlights are expected from Government stakeholders as they unpack Zimbabwe’s aspirations and desires in terms of an enabling environment, policies, and incentives for investors, chiefly Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows into the country. Value addition and beneficiation, joint ventures are also envisaged at the end of the conference.

There is optimism that the conference will enable connection with big mining international players, which should in turn lead to increased trade and investment opportunities.

The objectives of the Mining Investment Conference will be, among others, to promote investment into the country’s mining sector; to clarify Zimbabwe’s mining policies through a unified voice between the public and private sector; to unpack the “Zimbabwe is open for business mantra” using the practical tangible results from existing mining operations, to seek competitive markets for the country’s mineral commodities and to seek opportunities for technology transfers within the mining sector value chains.

Expo 2020 Dubai, which opened its doors to the public on 1 October 2021 will end on 31 March 2022.

The theme “Connecting minds, Creating the future” represents the potential of what can be achieved through sharing of experiences, knowledge and forging meaningful collaborations.

Zimbabwe is showcasing under the theme: “Zimbabwe the Land of Great Opportunities.