 "India may consider Lines of Credit proposals to Zimbabwe")
New Delhi: India said it will consider Lines of Credit proposals worth $400 million to Zimbabwe, which has assured it will address the issue of delays in businessmen obtaining visas.
During his visit to Harare for the India-Zimbabwe Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Thursday met Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, an official statement said.
“Also, Lines of Credit (LOC) proposals worth $400 million from the Zimbabwean side will be considered (by India),” the statement quoting Sharma said.[caption id=“attachment_679128” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. Image courtesy PIB[/caption]
Also, Sharma apprised him that India had offered to Zimbabwe various capacity building programmes, including scholarships and dedicated courses in bamboo craft development and handicrafts.
The India-Zimbabwe JTC meeting was co-chaired by Sharma and the his Zimbabwean counterpart, Welshman Ncube.
Besides, Sharma said India had approved a LOC worth $28.6 million for upgradation of Deka Pumping Station and the River Water Intake System in Zimbabwe.
India is actively considering two more LOC proposals received from Zimbabwe – the Rehabilitation of Small Thermal Power Stations and the Gairezi Hydro Electric Project, and Bulawayo Power Station Upgrade Project, the release said. On being apprised of the difficulties being faced by the Indian businessmen in obtaining Business Visa for Zimbabwe, Ncube assured that they will be addressing the issue expeditiously.
Sharma also agreed to the Zimbabwean request to provide assistance in revival of its textile industry and in developing its nascent diamond industry.
During the meeting, the two ministers reviewed the bilateral trade and investment relations. Both the sides also discussed a number of areas of cooperation including textiles sector, agro/food processing sector, gems and jewellery, industrial cluster initiatives, capacity building programmes and establishing of Commodity Exchange in Zimbabwe.
Both the ministers emphasised that the present levels of bilateral trade and investment were much below the potential.
In the year 2012, the India-Zimbabwe bilateral trade was $166 million, with balance of trade heavily in favour of India.
Further, the Zimbabwean Minister sought investments and technical assistance from India to enable Zimbabwe revive its manufacturing sector and to achieve greater value-addition, besides beneficiation of natural resources which in turn will enable the African nation to increase value of its exports.
The Zimbabwean side also asked the Indian industry to consider investing in the potential joint venture projects from the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe.
During the JTC meeting, the Indian side agreed to provide assistance to Zimbabwe in the development of the four clusters identified under its Industrial Development Policy namely, diamond cluster, clothing and textiles, leather and footwear and agro-processing.
PTI