News / National
Mugabe returns home
05 Nov 2014 at 15:02hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe has returned home from Vienna, Austria where he attended the 2nd United Nations conference of landlocked developing countries.
The conference focussed on shaping the new development agenda for landlocked developing countries for the next decade.
President Mugabe was accompanied to Austria by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and other senior government officials.
He was met at the Harare International Airport by Vice President Joice Mujuru, the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa, Minister of Defence Sydney Sekeramayi, Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Professor Jonathan Moyo as well as the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda.
Service chiefs General Constantine Chiwenga, Retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi, police Deputy Commissioner General Levi Sibanda and Air Marshal Perrence Shiri were also there to welcome President Mugabe and his delegation.
The conference had a mandate to assess the progress made in implementing the 2003 Almaty Programme of Action and identifying international, regional and sub-regional and national policies in the area of international trade, transit transport cooperation and review the current situation of transit transport systems in the light of new and emerging challenges.
Speaker after speaker at the conference called for the strengthening of regional cooperation partnerships and integration with strong calls for establishment of the required infrastructure.
Latin American firebrand and Bolivian President Evo Morales, who also attended the conference, came out strongly against some countries who stand in the way of other states from having direct access to the sea.
Landlocked developing countries face challenges which is compounded by additional border crossing and the long distance from major markets coupled with cumbersome transit procedures and inadequate infrastructure, factors which increase the total expense for transport and other transaction costs that erode the competitive edge of land locked developing countries, affecting their economic growth.
The conference focussed on shaping the new development agenda for landlocked developing countries for the next decade.
President Mugabe was accompanied to Austria by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and other senior government officials.
He was met at the Harare International Airport by Vice President Joice Mujuru, the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa, Minister of Defence Sydney Sekeramayi, Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Professor Jonathan Moyo as well as the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda.
Service chiefs General Constantine Chiwenga, Retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi, police Deputy Commissioner General Levi Sibanda and Air Marshal Perrence Shiri were also there to welcome President Mugabe and his delegation.
The conference had a mandate to assess the progress made in implementing the 2003 Almaty Programme of Action and identifying international, regional and sub-regional and national policies in the area of international trade, transit transport cooperation and review the current situation of transit transport systems in the light of new and emerging challenges.
Speaker after speaker at the conference called for the strengthening of regional cooperation partnerships and integration with strong calls for establishment of the required infrastructure.
Latin American firebrand and Bolivian President Evo Morales, who also attended the conference, came out strongly against some countries who stand in the way of other states from having direct access to the sea.
Landlocked developing countries face challenges which is compounded by additional border crossing and the long distance from major markets coupled with cumbersome transit procedures and inadequate infrastructure, factors which increase the total expense for transport and other transaction costs that erode the competitive edge of land locked developing countries, affecting their economic growth.
Source - zbc
