Harare, (New Ziana) – The Research Council of Zimbabwe (RCZ) and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS) on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation on academic research and communication.
The MoU, signed at the RCZ offices in Harare, will see the parties establishing joint research centres and enhance the capabilities of both sides in academic research and international communication cooperation by consolidating and sharing resources, thus contributing to exchange and cooperation between the think-tanks of China and Zimbabwe.
RCZ executive director Partson Chikudza signed the MoU on behalf of the organisation while ACCWS was represented by its vice president, Sui Xiaofei. Speaking after the signing ceremony, Chikudza said it was the second MoU with the national research institution of China.
“We signed another MoU with them last year and this one is meant to deepen and widen our relationship. In this case, we have upgraded our working relations to include other issues such as exchange visits, establishment of research institutions and publishing. We want to follow their trend of publishing informative journals and follow in their footsteps,” he said.
He said since researches in Zimbabwe cover various areas, the RCZ will capacitate its researchers and learn from the Chinese as well. “If the Chinese were able to do it on their own, we can do it as well with their help. From this collaboration, we have been able to fund research and going forward, we envisage an upscale of funding researches of high impact,” he added.
The MoU makes it clear that the RCZ and ACCWS will carry out joint or commissioned research on topics such as China-Zimbabwe relations, global governance, the Belt and Road initiative and country-specific and region-specific studies, whose outcomes may be released in the name of the Joint Research Centres.
Joint seminars and symposiums will be organised while senior members of both parties will be expected to publish works produced from joint research. The MoU further allows the establishment of a mechanism for sharing information and dynamics of academic research and arranging project-based funding through friendly consultation.
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