By Aldridge Dzvene
HARARE – Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are moving to deepen their economic partnership after bilateral trade grew by 74 percent over the past two years, with Harare now pursuing a comprehensive economic trade agreement to consolidate the expanding relationship.
The development emerged following a meeting between President Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and UAE Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbout, at State House in Harare, in a fresh indication of the growing importance of the Gulf state to Zimbabwe’s economic diplomacy.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Professor Amon Murwira said the engagement provided an opportunity to review the rapid expansion of economic relations between the two countries, describing the current trajectory as a significant development in Zimbabwe’s international trade engagement.
“As you know, Zimbabwe and UAE have excellent relations. Our trade relations have grown astronomically over the past few years. Our economic linkages are excellent,” Professor Murwira said.
He said negotiations towards a comprehensive economic trade agreement were progressing, creating the possibility of moving bilateral relations beyond conventional trade towards a broader economic partnership.
“We are looking forward to the completion of our comprehensive Economic trade agreement between Zimbabwe and UAE, and everything is on course,” he said.
The significance of the development extends beyond the 74 percent growth figure. For Zimbabwe, stronger economic relations with the UAE provide an opportunity to widen export markets, attract investment and deepen commercial links with one of the world’s major trading and investment centres.
The emerging relationship also fits into Zimbabwe’s broader economic diplomacy, where Government is increasingly using bilateral relations to create markets for local products while attracting capital, technology and partnerships capable of strengthening domestic productive capacity.
Professor Murwira said Zimbabwe’s trade expansion was not confined to the UAE, noting that trade with the European Union had increased by more than 38 percent, while economic relations with China were also growing.
“Trade with other countries is growing at the same time. The President coined the doctrine that Zimbabwe is open for business. Our trade with the European Union has grown by over 38 percent, and also our trade with China is growing,” he said.
The broader trend points to an effort to diversify Zimbabwe’s external economic relationships rather than depending heavily on traditional markets. Such diversification is increasingly important as the country seeks to expand export receipts and create greater space for Zimbabwean products in international markets.
However, the strategic value of expanding trade will ultimately depend on Zimbabwe’s capacity to increase the domestic production behind those exports. Greater market access must be matched by investment in manufacturing, agriculture, mining, beneficiation and other productive sectors if trade growth is to translate into sustainable economic transformation.
This places the proposed Zimbabwe-UAE economic trade agreement within the wider objectives of the National Development Strategy 2, particularly the drive for investment mobilisation, value addition, export growth and industrialisation.
The UAE relationship therefore represents an emerging component of Zimbabwe’s broader economic repositioning, where foreign policy is increasingly being linked directly to investment, trade and national development priorities.
As Zimbabwe continues pursuing new markets and partnerships, the immediate policy challenge will be to convert expanding diplomatic and commercial relations into productive investment, stronger local industries, increased export receipts and employment opportunities, thereby ensuring that international economic engagement delivers tangible domestic development outcomes.
