Mugabe meets Uruguay counterpart

Economic and trade relations between Zimbabwe and Uruguay are poised for growth after leaders of the two countries agreed to collaborate and facilitate trade and investments in the areas of agriculture and the energy sector.

This emerged when President Robert Mugabe who is in Montevideo attending the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Conference on NCDs held a meeting with the President of Uruguay Dr Tabare Vazquez at his offices in the capital city.

President Mugabe was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Walter Mzembi,  Zimbabwe's ambassador to Brazil and the South American Region Ambassador Thomas Bvuma, Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba and several senior government officials.

Sources close to the meeting revealed that the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues that are expected to cement economic and trade relations between the two countries.

After the closed door meeting the two heads of state took some time to chat and got to know each other better.

Later in the day, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Walter Mzembi, who was accompanied by Ambassador Bvuma and Ambassador Chipo Zindoga from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs then made a follow up visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Uruguay Mr Rodolfo Nin Novoa at his offices.    

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Dr Mzembi says a delegation comprising agriculture experts and energy sector representatives from the South American country are expected to visit Zimbabwe soon.

"I think we have something going with the Uruguayans. They are very warm people and very genuine. What they have informed me is that their own president instructed a delegation be dispatched to Harare to follow up on the Presidential discussion.We have refined it a little bit to a position where we are saying the Minister of Agriculture of Zimbabwe and Energy Minister must first come up here to familiarise with what the two presidents discussed.

"The first aspect being the area around cattle ranching and beef production where Uruguay is excelling to the extent where despite the fact that it is one third the size of Zimbabwe, they actually boast of 20 million herd of cattle and they are exporting to 140 countries and clearly that's a very useful benchmark study for our Minister of Agriculture. They are growing food enough to feed 40 million people. There will also be emphasis on renewable energy production.  We think it will be a useful benchmark study," said Dr Mzembi.

The economy of Uruguay is characterised by an export-oriented agricultural sector and Minister Mzembi says Zimbabwe will take every effort to improve bilateral trade-economic relations with the South American country.