• India and Zimbabwe have agreed to explore an opportunity to ink a pact for regulatory cooperation in tele-medicines, rough diamonds, and fast payments system.

• It was agreed during the third session of India-Zimbabwe Joint Trade Committee (JTC), which was held in New Delhi.

• They also agreed to make concerted efforts towards enhancing bilateral trade.

• Both sides identified several areas of focus for enhancing bilateral cooperation in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, machinery, vehicles, electrical machinery, mineral fuels, iron and steel, agriculture and food processing, and renewable energy.

India-Zimbabwe Relations

• India and Zimbabwe have a long history of close and cordial relations.

• During the era of the Munhumutapa Kingdom, Indian merchants established strong links with Zimbabwe, trading in textiles, minerals and metals. Sons of the royal house of Munhumutapa journeyed to India to broaden their education. In the 17th century, a great son of Zimbabwe, Dom Miguel — Prince, Priest and Professor, and heir to the imperial throne of the Mutapas lived in Goa. An inscribed pillar stands today at a chapel in Goa, a tribute to his intellectual stature.

• The beginning of Indian presence in Zimbabwe goes back to about 1890 when Indian plantation workers in apartheid South Africa crossed over to Zimbabwe in what was then known as Southern Rhodesia.

• India supported Zimbabwe’s freedom struggle.

• On April 18, 1980, Zimbabwe gained its independence

• Zimbabwe looks at India as an important trade and investment partner. Bilateral trade between India and Zimbabwe is around $200 million.

• Zimbabwe’s mining sector is highly diversified, with close to 40 different minerals. The predominant minerals include platinum group metals (PGM), chrome, gold, coal, lithium, and diamonds.

• The country boasts the second-largest platinum deposit and high-grade chromium ores in the world.  The sector accounts for about 12 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 80 per cent of national exports.

• India’s imports from Zimbabwe include crude minerals, precious stones, and non-ferrous metals.

• India’s main export items are transport equipment and motor vehicles, organic and agro-chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.

• The Indian investments in Zimbabwe are estimated at $500 million. Indian companies have made investments mainly in the beverages, pharmaceuticals and agro-processing industries. 

• India gifted emergency medicines worth $2.2 million in 2019-2020 as also 1,000 MT of rice. 

• India has also provided $1 million to Zimbabwe in 2021 for climate resilient agriculture in the districts of Chiredzi and Mangwe through the India UN Development Partnership Fund.

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