Mukudzei Chingwere in DUSHANBE, Tajikistan.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga arrived here yesterday for the third Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference, joining other world leaders, to address water challenges.
The VP is accompanied by his wife Colonel Miniyothabo Chiwenga, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Vangelis Haritatos and several senior Government officials, for the conference that opens today.
He was received yesterday in the Central Asian country by Tajikistan Deputy Prime Minister Usmonali Usmonzoda and quickly got down to business, telling journalists that the world needs to act decisively to beat the lingering water challenges.
The conference seeks to coordinate and aggregate the world's response to sustainable use of water and cope with water challenges induced by climate change.
This comes at a time when global leaders are grappling with water challenges that have become a threat to economies, sanitation and hygiene.
United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to be part of conference deliberations as UN member states push for the appointment of an under secretary-general to bring up issues related to water at the UN decision making front row seat.
Speaking on arrival yesterday, VP Chiwenga said sustainable and maximum use of water was central to Zimbabwe's economic development and Government took such conferences seriously.
"As you might be aware, this year in March there was a conference on water, where a proposal to have an under secretary-general for water, because of climate change, was recommended to the United Nations Secretary-General," said VP Chiwenga.
"Water is now becoming a very scarce commodity and each and every country has got to make sure that you have enough water not only for your people, but for your agriculture and all in all we are talking of water, sanitation and hygiene, WASH, and all these are combined because that's what makes human beings.
"So, we are coming to this conference on water to share ideas," said VP Chiwenga. Zimbabwe was taking all water uses seriously, including the water, sanitation and hygiene goals, as it moved towards an empowered upper middle income economy.
Water is also important to all sectors of the economy ranging from agriculture, mining, manufacturing among others. The VP is also expected to tackle economic diplomacy tasks with a number of engagements already lined up for him.
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VP Chiwenga said Government continues to push for economic synergies in all parts of the world.
"Tajikistan helped us for the liberation of Zimbabwe during our struggle for independence when it was part of the Soviet Union. But now it's now an independent country and we want to maintain our relations.
"As the President has already espoused that we are going to engage in all areas, the economy is our fundamental priority number one, that is economic diplomacy. We want to see what we can tap from Tajikistan and what we can share. How we can develop our trade between the two countries," said VP Chiwenga.
According to the World Bank, Tajikistan has enormous growth potential due to a young and growing population, water and hydropower potential, and development in sectors such as agriculture and food processing, mineral resources, tourism, and more.
The World Bank also notes that over the last decade, Tajikistan experienced strong economic performance, with the growth rate averaging above 7,1 percent.
Strong growth, higher wages, and international remittances helped reduce the number of people living in poverty from 32 percent of the population in 2009 to an estimated 12,4 percent in 2022.
