Mugabe visit to enhance ties: Zuma

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (L) looks on as President Jacob Zuma gestures ahead of a press briefing at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Mugabe is on a two-day state visit to South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (L) looks on as President Jacob Zuma gestures ahead of a press briefing at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Mugabe is on a two-day state visit to South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Published Apr 8, 2015

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Pretoria - The state visit by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will boost relations between Pretoria and Harare, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.

“The visit will certainly enhance the relations to a higher level for the benefit of the people of both countries,” Zuma said following the signing of agreements between the two governments.

Mugabe arrived in South Africa on Tuesday on an official visit and was accompanied by ten of his cabinet ministers and his wife Grace.

The two countries signed three agreements. These were the memorandum of understanding on diplomatic consultations, the agreement on cooperation on water resources management and the agreement on mutual assistance between Customs administrations.

Zuma said Zimbabwe was one of South Africa’s top three trading partners on the continent.

“Opportunities for deeper economic cooperation exist in the fields of mining, water, energy, infrastructure development, transport and information technologies, among others.”

Mugabe, in turn, said Zimbabwe had a lot of unexplored natural resources.

“We have diamonds, chrome, platinum and so on, and most of these are still lying underground and unexplored,” he said.

Zimbabwe also had agricultural resources and products such as sugar, cotton, tea and tobacco, Mugabe said.

Mugabe threw in a joke and said that Chinese people consume most of the tobacco exported by Zimbabwe.

“We do not smoke much of the tobacco, the Chinese smoke most of it. Our health minister here advises us not to smoke the tobacco, but does not tell us not to grow it, so we grow it in huge quantity to supply our neighbours and others,” he said, drawing laughter from government ministers and reporters.

A business forum between the two countries would be held in Pretoria on Thursday.

ANA

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