The mission was led by British Expertise and met Vice President Joice Mujuru, six cabinet ministers, heads of several parastatals, captains of industry and leading British firms based in Zimbabwe.
The trade delegation met the heads of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), Zimbabwe Mining Development Company (ZMDC) and Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (Zinara).
In a statement, the British embassy in Harare said: “The delegation observed at first hand the realities of doing business in Zimbabwe, including through a site visit to Unilever Zimbabwe, and explored the opportunities for future trade cooperation.”
According to Catriona Laing, the British ambassador, the mission “received a warm welcome from all parts of the Zimbabwean Government, who expressed a strong desire to promote more UK trade and investment”.
She added: “We welcome the commitment expressed by the Finance Minister and others to improving the business environment, not least through clarification of the indigenisation policy. This will be crucial if we are to translate interest into investment.”
British Expertise's Alex Lambeth, who led the trade mission, was upbeat about business prospects in Zimbabwe and described the trip as a success.
“The visit has been a success. The firms were impressed at the range and quality of the opportunities on offer, and the clear and consistent message from the public and private sector that Zimbabwe is open for business.
“This week's mission has represented the start of a process.
As the next step, British Expertise will draft a report on the mission in the coming weeks, which will be launched in both London and South Africa to interested UK firms and investors,” said Lambeth.
Post published in: News
I am sure the British adventurers who had been left out of the looting and plunder that has been going on in Zimbabwe the last 15 years led by the Chinese, Israelis and Indians welcome the chance to join in. In that regard, yes the trade mission was a resounding success.
For the ordinary Zimbabwean whose lives have become a hell-on-earth after all the decades of corruption, looting and plunder by this Zanu PF government in cahoots with the above named nations and throwing the door open to more outsiders to join in the plunder will only make their lives even worse. Countries like Israel and China have played a key role in Zimbabwe’s rigged elections in the past. But worse still, this EU re-engaging with Zanu PF means all pressure for the latter to hold free and fair elections is off and extinguishing our hope of ever ending this nightmare peacefully!