APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Belarus and Zimbabwe have signed a memorandum of understanding under which the eastern European country would set up a factory to assemble Belarusian buses in the southern African nation, according to reports monitored here on Tuesday.
The reports said the MOU between Zimbabwe’s AVM Africa and Minsk Auto Mobile Plant of Belarus was one of two agreements inked during the ongoing Zimbabwe-Belarus Business Forum ended in Harare on Monday. The other agreement was for the supply of Belarusian fire-fighting equipment to Zimbabwe.
The vehicle assembly plant is expected to result in the production of buses suitable for the local terrain, with the agreement between the two countries including the training of Zimbabwean engineers to work at the factory.
The bus assembly project is the latest support provided to Zimbabwe by Belarus, which has offered to help develop the southern African country as a regional transport hub using its own experiences.
The forum was attended by more than 100 government officials and businesspersons from the two countries, including 60 representing Belarus’ largest industrial and agricultural enterprises, the academic community, ministries and government agencies.
Meanwhile, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik is set to visit Harare this week for the first meeting of the Zimbabwe-Belarus Joint Standing Commission on Cooperation scheduled for February 22-23.
The meeting is expected to discuss a wide range of issues covering the areas of trade, investment and industrial cooperation, as well as Belarus’ participation in the mechanization of Zimbabwe’s agriculture.
The Zimbabwean delegation would be headed by Foreign Minister, while the Belarusian delegation is expected to include heads and staff of the ministries of industry, agriculture and food, healthcare, education and several state enterprises.
JN/APA