News / National
Mudenda lures Japanese investors
19 Sep 2025 at 06:51hrs | 2,560 Views
Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has urged Japan to take advantage of Zimbabwe's vast mineral resources and invest in the mining sector, highlighting opportunities for cooperation in exploration, beneficiation, and technology transfer.
Mudenda, who is leading a parliamentary delegation to Japan, extended the invitation during a meeting with Yamagiwa Daishiro, chairperson of the Japan-African Union Parliamentary Friendship Association. The delegation also held discussions with Masakazu Sekiguchi, president of Japan's House of Councillors, on issues of mutual interest. Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Japan, Stewart Nyakotyo, attended the engagements.
"Zimbabwe is endowed with rich natural resources as well as abundant tourist attractions which can further its economic development," Daishiro said. Mudenda echoed the sentiment, stressing that Zimbabwe's more than 40 known minerals present vast opportunities for collaboration with Japanese companies, particularly in exploration and beneficiation.
He noted Japan's importation of Zimbabwean petalite, widely used in Japanese cookware manufacturing, as an example of mutually beneficial trade that could be expanded.
On tourism, Mudenda expressed concern over the decline in Japanese visitors to Zimbabwe, which dropped from about 30,000 annually before COVID-19 to just 10,000 in the post-pandemic era. He called for joint efforts to restore and grow the sector, emphasising people-to-people exchanges.
Agriculture was also highlighted as a key area of cooperation. Japan imports sesame seeds from Zimbabwe and, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has been supporting local farmers with infrastructure to boost production.
To cement parliamentary diplomacy, Mudenda proposed establishing a Zimbabwe-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association and signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the two legislatures to strengthen institutional ties.
The Speaker also underscored Zimbabwe's drive to digitalise parliamentary processes and harness artificial intelligence (AI) in areas such as cyber security, agriculture, and mining. He described AI as a tool for enhancing efficiency in governance and economic development.
Ambassador Nyakotyo reinforced the importance of deepening cooperation, citing a Memorandum of Understanding signed by President Mnangagwa between the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) and Japan's Cross-U Space Organisation on the sidelines of the TICAD 9 Summit.
Mudenda's delegation is in Japan to advance parliamentary diplomacy and foster stronger economic, technological, and cultural ties between the two nations.
Mudenda, who is leading a parliamentary delegation to Japan, extended the invitation during a meeting with Yamagiwa Daishiro, chairperson of the Japan-African Union Parliamentary Friendship Association. The delegation also held discussions with Masakazu Sekiguchi, president of Japan's House of Councillors, on issues of mutual interest. Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Japan, Stewart Nyakotyo, attended the engagements.
"Zimbabwe is endowed with rich natural resources as well as abundant tourist attractions which can further its economic development," Daishiro said. Mudenda echoed the sentiment, stressing that Zimbabwe's more than 40 known minerals present vast opportunities for collaboration with Japanese companies, particularly in exploration and beneficiation.
He noted Japan's importation of Zimbabwean petalite, widely used in Japanese cookware manufacturing, as an example of mutually beneficial trade that could be expanded.
On tourism, Mudenda expressed concern over the decline in Japanese visitors to Zimbabwe, which dropped from about 30,000 annually before COVID-19 to just 10,000 in the post-pandemic era. He called for joint efforts to restore and grow the sector, emphasising people-to-people exchanges.
Agriculture was also highlighted as a key area of cooperation. Japan imports sesame seeds from Zimbabwe and, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has been supporting local farmers with infrastructure to boost production.
To cement parliamentary diplomacy, Mudenda proposed establishing a Zimbabwe-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association and signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the two legislatures to strengthen institutional ties.
The Speaker also underscored Zimbabwe's drive to digitalise parliamentary processes and harness artificial intelligence (AI) in areas such as cyber security, agriculture, and mining. He described AI as a tool for enhancing efficiency in governance and economic development.
Ambassador Nyakotyo reinforced the importance of deepening cooperation, citing a Memorandum of Understanding signed by President Mnangagwa between the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) and Japan's Cross-U Space Organisation on the sidelines of the TICAD 9 Summit.
Mudenda's delegation is in Japan to advance parliamentary diplomacy and foster stronger economic, technological, and cultural ties between the two nations.
Source - newsday
