Zim, Russia celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties

Harare(New Ziana) – Zimbabwe on Wednesday commended the Russia for its provision of Covid-19 vaccines, saying this will go a long way in helping the country fight off the global pandemic.

Government is in Covid-19 vaccine supply talks with Russia to boost the country’s vaccination programme which is due to begin on Thursday.

Russia is one of a few manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines, and was the first to register the medicine back in August of last year.

Its vaccine, Sputnik-V, has been adopted for use by dozens of countries around the world, and has an efficacy of nearly 92 percent.

In a statement to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Zimbabwe and Russia, acting Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Prof Amon Murwira said cooperation between the two countries had grown both in strength and scope.

“The time-tested relationship between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation, whose longevity is being celebrated today, has again been manifest in the Government and people of the Russian Federation‘s assistance to Zimbabwe since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, through the provision of much-needed equipment and a life- saving vaccine to help in the fight against the devastating global scourge,” said Prof Murwira.

The 18th of February 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation.

Prof Murwira said over the years, the cooperation between the two countries has grown both in strength and scope with the Russian Federation continuing to provide annual scholarships to Zimbabweans for training in a wide range of fields of academic and professional endeavour, including medicine, engineering and journalism.

“The two countries have also concluded several developmental instruments that include the Zimbabwe- Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

“This underpins the two countries’ decades-old cooperative partnership which in recent times has seen the opening up of new frontiers of possible cooperation in various sectors including energy, science and technology development and mining, the latter in which are flagship projects that are on stream in the fields of platinum and diamond extraction,” he said.

Prof Murwira said Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation continued to enjoy each other’s support at various fora, including the United Nations, other continental and regional bodies, in pursuit of the two countries’ shared vision of a just and peaceful world order, especially in these times of increasing threats to global peace and security.

“May the relationship of cooperation between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation continue to endure well beyond these auspicious celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic relations between our two countries,” he said.

New Ziana