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Zimbabwe Minister Identifies Priorities for Russia-Africa Summit

The second Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum will be hosted in St. Petersburg on July 27-28. The first event was held October 22-24, 2019, in Sochi under the theme "For Peace, Security and Development."
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Digitalization will be the top discussion priority for Zimbabwe at the Russia-Africa summit, Monica Mutsvangwa, Zimbabwe's minister of information, publicity and broadcasting, told Sputnik Africa in an interview.

"From Zimbabwe's point of view, priority issues to be discussed should be digital technologies," the minister said. "And that is very, very interesting to us."

Likewise, issues of medicine, energy, especially renewable energy, and infrastructure development are also of great importance, Mutsvangwa noted.
For Zimbabwe, it is also of interest to consider modern and high-tech extraction and processing of abundant mineral resources.
Raising the issue of agriculture during the summit is also significant for Harare, she pointed out.

"We have rich soils, fertile, and good weather, good climate throughout the year to produce horticulture, citrus, all these very required products in your country [Russia]," Mutsvangwa argued.

The official also highlighted the oil and gas exploration fields, noting that it was recently confirmed that Zimbabwe has oil.
"So certainly all these, as well as other science and education for economic development, will be really priority issues to discuss," Mutsvangwa concluded.
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Although the minister of information could not confirm that Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa will attend the July summit, she noted that it is very important that Zimbabwe has a "good opportunity" to attend the summit at the highest level and benefit from it.
Mnangagwa visited Moscow in January 2019. At that time, he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the parties signed a number of agreements.
In April, at the ceremony to present credentials to foreign ambassadors, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the friendship between Russia and Zimbabwe "has been tested by time," and the deepening of trade and investment cooperation is in the mutual interest of both countries.