By Bernard Mutambudzi

Senior government officials from South Africa who arrived in the country yesterday for preparatory meetings of the third session of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC), are set to meet with their Zimbabwean counterparts at a local hotel in Harare today.

The BNC will be held tomorrow and it will be co-chaired by President Mnangagwa and his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa. It comes hard on the heels of similar meetings which were held in the country with Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi last week.

The two leaders, widely considered to be pro-business, are expected to take strong bilateral cooperation between the two neighbours a notch higher.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokesperson Mr Gideon Gapare yesterday said all was set for the BNC which is the highest bilateral framework of cooperation between the two countries.

The convening of these BNCs, the highest cooperation framework between two countries, is testimony of the Second Republic’s quest to position the country back on track.

The high-level talks come after Zimbabwe had another successful bilateral engagement with Botswana.

The BNCs are in line with the SADC Strategic Regional Integration plan.

South Africa is Zimbabwe’s largest trading partner and today’s meeting is expected to further strengthen political, economic, social and cultural relations between the two countries.

During the last BNC held in South Africa in 2017, Zimbabwe and South Africa agreed to operationalize the Beitbridge One-Stop Border Post.

The two countries agreed that the border had become the busiest port of entry on the continent, and as such, there was need to facilitate the smooth flow of business for the benefit of both countries.

Zimbabwe and South Africa also signed five agreements for cross-border trading cooperation, energy, environment, information communication technologies (ICT) and sports and recreation.

The engagements are also likely to centre on sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

President Ramaphosa has on several occasions called for the unconditional lifting of the sanctions on Zimbabwe.

South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu recently said: “Our President (Ramaphosa) will be in Harare for BNC.”

During the Davos meeting, President Ramaphosa condemned sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

“I thought by now sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe Government and its people would be lifted to enable the country to start afresh after all the challenges they have gone through.

“We call on EU and particularly the United Kingdom (UK) to give the Government and the people of Zimbabwe a chance to change their situation by urgently lifting the sanctions.

“Without lifting the sanctions, the Government of Zimbabwe will never be able to address its economic challenges, and this is compromising the political gains achieved since the coming in of the new President,” said Ramaphosa.

Much is expected from the visit, as the two Presidents meet tomorrow.