….as local business people welcome Turkey-Zim direct flights
Staff Reporter
Zimbabwe and Turkey continue to strengthen their bilateral ties as well as possibilities of establishing a direct flight between the two countries.
Last week, Turkey Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Zimbabwe and held meetings with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and his counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Frederick Shava, where they discussed bilateral relations in the fields of Agriculture, Defence and Technology Sectors as well as regional matters.
A source privy to the details said that a Turkish company, Sumi was also interested in constructing a state of the art hotel in Mt Hampden, near the new Parliament building.
“Zimbabwe and Turkey held bilateral meetings between 10 and 11 January 2023 in Harare and agreed to cooperate in the fields of agriculture, defense technology sectors.
“Also a Turkish company, Sumi, has shown serious interest in constructing a state of the art hotel in Mt Hampden near the new Parliament building,” said the source.
Meanwhile, local business people have welcomed the news of a direct flight between Turkey and Zimbabwe saying that it would save time and provide a much safer travelling experience.
“It’s a welcome development. The difficulties we are always face when changing flights en-route to Turkey will be a thing of the past as the direct flights would eliminate such hustles. At one time, I lost goods coming from Turkey when I was changing flights in South Africa. Direct flights are going to help local business people who do business with companies from both countries,” said Nyasha Kambarami, a local business woman.
Edson Nyikadzino, a local businessman said that the Turkey-Zimbabwe direct flight was long overdue. He added that a number of Zimbabweans go to Turkey to purchase clothes and other materials; hence the coming in of the direct flights would help these travellers.
Furthermore, Turkey has been awarding Zimbabwean students educational scholarships and has also been importing tobacco and diamonds among other products from Zimbabwe. The visit by Cavusoglu was historic in that it was the first time the Foreign Affairs Minister of Turkey visited Zimbabwe, in a move demonstrating the success of Government’s engagement and re-engagement policy.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Minister called for the unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the West.
