Harare - ZIMBABWE’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF), a first for the country once described as an axis of evil under the long ruling Robert Mugabe.
Mugabe was toppled in November last year in a military coup.
The WEF’s 48th annual general meeting to be held next week in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland brings together a number of heads of states, government, business leaders and civic society among others.
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Overall, the Annual Meeting will feature over 340 top political leaders with 10 heads of state and government from Africa, nine from the Middle East and North Africa and six from Latin America. These include; Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia; Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe; Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of Nigeria; Saad Al Hariri, President of the Council of Ministers, Lebanon; His Majesty Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel; and Juan Manuel Santos, President of Columbia.
Mnangagwa will be one of the 10 Heads of state and government from Africa.
“I am sure that he (President Mnangagwa) will be given an opportunity to speak on the new direction that we are taking as a country, the reengagement process and the policy thrust.
“Generally it’s an opportunity to us as a country to showcase what we offer and say to investors, you are welcome to invest in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is open for business,” Zimbabwe Investment Authority chief executive Richard Mbaiwa is quoted in the state owned daily, Herald.
The Herald said attending the conference is also set to “improve the country’s risk profile going forward as Government will be able to articulate its position to a wider audience in line with the new approach to doing business.”
Mnangagwa has vowed engagement with the international community to lure much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that eluded Zimbabwe under Mugabe.
The President told locals based in South Africa during his visit to the neighboring country that Zimbabwe lags behind other African countries “by more than 20years.”
Mnangagwa has also embarked on a regional offensive, seeking endorsement from Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders after assuming the reigns in a military coup.
