VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga yesterday met Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, as Zimbabwe continues to seek global economic synergies in traditional and emerging markets.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the third Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference, which the VP is attending together with other Government representatives from across United Nations (UN) member states.
Tajikistan's economy is on an upward trajectory and there is a lot Zimbabwe can benefit from cooperating with the central Asian country.
President Mnangagwa has directed all Government representatives to pursue economic diplomacy in all their engagements with other Governments as well as external companies.
Against this background, VP Chiwenga's meeting with President Rahmon centred on almost all areas of possible economic cooperation for the benefit of the two countries.
"We talked about greater cooperation between our two countries. We shall have this propelled through our foreign ministries.
"Hopefully the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be able to meet soon either in Dushanbe or in Harare to discuss.
"We talked about almost all areas ranging from agriculture, mining, industry to tourism. We looked at all the possible areas of co-operation with Tajikistan," said VP Chiwenga.
The two countries started reaching out to each other in 2017 to lay out a platform for enhanced economic co-operation.
The World Bank also notes that Tajikistan has enormous growth potential due to a young and growing population, water and hydro-power potential, and development in areas like 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 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.
Last night at a dinner hosted by the Tajikistan Government, VP Chiwenga also met informally with his counterparts from Zambia and Angola; Vice President WK Mutale Nalumango and Vice President Esperanca da Costa respectively.
