Zuma to meet Mugabe on Wednesday

Zuma will meet President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday as a follow-up to economic and trade agreements signed by the two countries when Mugabe was last in South Africa.

"President Zuma is expected to arrive in Zimbabwe on November 2, while ministers will be expected to get here earlier to do preparatory work," consular affairs representative Linda Maso said.

Earlier this year Zimbabwe banned imports that mostly originate from South Africa, its biggest trading partner.

Although Zimbabwe blames South Africa for making it its "supermarket", the biggest economy in the SADC bloc says it wants to see Zimbabwe recover economically.

"South Africa is, indeed, committed to working with Zimbabwe to help develop its economy," Maso added.

Last year, South Africa exported R25.6-billion in goods to Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe exported R4.3-billion in goods to South Africa.

Zimbabwe and South Africa together have a total of 35 memoranda of understanding and agreements.

More are expected in the information technology and power-generation sectors.