Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike
OUTGOING Equatorial Guinea Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr José Ela Ebang Mbang has called on his country and Zimbabwe to enhance collaboration to boost their respective productive sectors, as the two nations continue to enjoy strong economic ties.
Speaking after bidding President Mnangagwa farewell at State House in Harare yesterday, Mr Ebang Mbang said he wishes for a situation where the two countries share such expertise going forward, especially in the agriculture and mining sectors.
“I came here to bid farewell to the President of Zimbabwe after eight years working here in this country. I arrived in Zimbabwe in 2016, and we have a very strong relationship with Zimbabwe; a very strong friendship,” he said.
“I worked very well with my brothers and sisters from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and also from other ministries of this country.
“I have good memories and I will take them with me to Equatorial Guinea. Talking about the population, the people, they are very humble, very friendly. This is something that I will keep in my heart.”
Ambassador Ebang Mbang said the two countries had signed a number of agreements in many sectors, including mining, tourism and education.
He called for sustainable exchange programmes.
“We have different agreements of cooperation in the agriculture sector, mining, tourism, education and other areas.
“The agriculture sector is very important for the two countries.
“Zimbabwe is a country really developed in agriculture, with a lot of experience in this sector.
“I wish Zimbabwe could help Equatorial Guinea to also develop and produce as Zimbabwe does.
“Our advantage is that in Equatorial Guinea, nine months of the whole year, it is raining.
“So, we don’t need an irrigation system. This is something we can study further and secondly, tourism. Zimbabwe is an attraction.
“It is a tourist attraction that everyone would like to come to,” he said.
Ambassador Ebang Mbang said Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea are working on an education exchange programme, through which people will be trained in medicine, agriculture and mining.
“We are working together in a programme, a project where students can come here and be engineers in the agriculture sector specifically.
“That is the first point and also doctors; medical doctors, because tourism cannot be done without people knowing what animals or flora is, and lastly, we have also made some exchanges in the field of mines and oil.
“Because Equatorial Guinea produces oil, we have experience in oil and gas, and Zimbabwe has great experience in terms of mining policy,” said the outgoing ambassador.
“As Zimbabwe has already found oil, we, as oil engineers, can come and assist Zimbabwe and those who are in the field of mines can come to Equatorial Guinea to help us extract our subsurface wealth.”
He said these are some of the key issues that he worked to address during his eight-year tenure in the country.
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