Bilateral trade between Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) more than doubled between 2009 and 2014 with Zimbabwe recording a trade surplus of 289.286 million Euro (approximately 313.73 million U.S. dollars) in 2014, an official said Wednesday.
This was an increase from a trade surplus of 156.3 million dollars the country recorded in the first nine months of 2013 with the regional bloc.
EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Philippe Van Damme said the EU was committed to strong trade ties with Zimbabwe after a decade of frosty relations.
The ambassador was speaking at the launch of the second Zimbabwe-European Business Information Centre (Zim-EBIC) in the second largest city of Bulawayo.
The Centre is an information hotspot that will allow Zimbabwean businesses to easily and conveniently access information about trade with the European Union.
“With the inauguration of the Zimbabwe-European Business Information Centre, the EU reaffirms its longstanding commitment to strong trade links between the 28 EU Member States and Zimbabwe, even beyond the recently signed National Indicative Program (NIP) that concentrates on the key areas of health, agriculture based economic growth and good governance,” the ambassador said.
Despite a decade of frosty ties which only ended last November after the bloc lifted its sanctions on the country, the EU has remained Zimbabwe’s second largest trading partner after South Africa.
The EU mainly imports tobacco leaf, raw cane sugar, industrial and non industrial diamonds and horticulture products from Zimbabwe while Zimbabwe mainly imports machinery from the EU.
The establishment of the Zim-EBIC in Bulawayo, which followed the successful launch of a similar centre in Harare in 2014, is part of the EU’s Support to Trade and Private Sector Development Project being implemented by International Trade Centre (ITC) in the framework of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (i-EPA) between the EU and the Eastern and Southern Africa.
The ambassador said the project was also in line with the national priorities spelt out in Zimbabwe’s National Trade Policy and Industrial Development Policy and would contribute to enhancing the EU’s dialogue with Zimbabwe on trade and private sector development.
He said the regional trading bloc would soon sign an additional 1 million euro with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Industry and Trade which will focus on sanitary and phytosanitary measures as the bloc steps up trade ties with Zimbabwe after recently signing a 7 million euro trade facilitation program with the country. Enditem
Source:Xinhua
