Online Reporter
Gibson Nyikadzino-Herald Correspondent
FRANCE is happy about the improving business and trade ties with Zimbabwe and will continue nurturing them to allow more cooperation between the two countries, French Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Paul-Bertrand Barets, has said.
Ambassador Barets said relations between the two countries “can still be improved a lot and developed”, adding that French companies operating in Zimbabwe were happy with the environment.
Trade statistics between the two countries are at US$83 million, which the ambassador said was “modest when you think of the importance of the French economy and the importance of the Zimbabwean economy in Southern Africa .
“So, there is a real room for improvement. I must say that I am a little bit optimistic as trade increased by more than 30 percent in 2023.
“And it is rather lively in the fields of mechanical equipment, transport vehicles that we export very much to Zimbabwe, and also you are exporting a lot of things to France, and it is a rather balanced trade relationship, which is also something nice and interesting for both our countries.”
The engagement between President Mnangagwa and 16 French firms whose representatives visited Zimbabwe, the ambassador said, helped identify areas of cooperation and investment in business.
Ambassador Barets said President Mnangagwa urged the two countries to improve their relationship in terms of economic trade.
As an investment destination, he said areas with potential to invest include infrastructure, water, logistics, transport, energy, and the services sectors.
Ambassador Barets said French companies were “satisfied” to be operating in Zimbabwe.
“They (French companies) have learned to navigate and to manoeuvre around the difficulties that may arise from challenging macro-economic and financial environments. They are rather satisfied to be here. They are doing good business, and this is a good example for the investors who would like to come.
“We have been addressing the traditional, classical questions that are being raised by investors when they consider investing in Zimbabwe, such as currency stability, the possibility and the security related to the repatriation of benefits.”
French companies operating in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa were not out there “to come and make money and leave”.
“It is really to train the staff and to transfer knowledge,” Ambassador Barets said.
The engagement and re-engagement drive championed by the Second Republic has been crucial in attracting foreign investment under the “Zimbabwe is open for business” policy.
Political relations between Zimbabwe and many countries, mainly in the West, have also improved significantly on the back of the “friend to all and enemy to none” policy.
