Zimbabwe takes its battered image to the World Government Summit in Dubai in an effort to step up its international re-engagement efforts as well as foster and consolidating new bi-lateral ties.
The country’s economy has been on a downward spiral for the past couple of decades largely attributable to corruption by the government and mismanagement.
And the situation has not been made any better by the removal of long-standing former president Robert Mugabe through what is largely viewed as a coup, although officials in the country have denied this.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Priscah Mupfumira is leading an eight-member delegation attending the World Government Summit in Dubai.
The World Government Summit is a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of governments worldwide. Each year, the Summit sets the agenda for the next generation of governments, focusing on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
The Zimbabwean delegation is comprised of the Deputy Minister of Labour and Public Services Lovemore Matuke, the Public Service Commission Representative Commissioner Dr Tsitsi Choruma who is with the Commission’s, Human Resources Director Simon Masanga and Dr Precious Sibiya a Director in the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
The country’s marketing arm Zimbabwe Tourism Authority is using the Summit to position and market Zimbabwe as a Destination of choice.
“The World Government Summit is a neutral, non-profit organization at the intersection of government and innovation. It functions as a knowledge exchange platform for leaders in the public and private sectors to convene and collaborate with world-renowned experts to create a positive impact for citizens worldwide. We believe as a country and in particular as a Ministry we can benefit from the sessions and above all this is a great platform to market Destination Zimbabwe” said Mupfumira.
“Zimbabwe’s economy is ready for take-off. The country’s fiscal deficit is being taken care of by the government and the people of the Republic, Zimbabwe is ready for international investment and to once again foster an environment for people to prosper and make money. Now is the time to invest in the Zimbabwean tourism sector, I dare say, don’t miss the boat,” adding that the country’s tourism industry is ripe for success.
The Annual Gathering of the World Government Summit, held in February in Dubai, hosts over 4000 participants and invites world leaders, international organizations’ representatives, thinkers, and experts from over 150 countries.
This year’s highlight of the Summit was Pope Francis’ attendance and he urged policymakers and government leaders at the World Government Summit to think about not only economic but social and moral interests when tackling global challenges.
“It is my sincere hope that the question underlying your reflections will not only be ‘what are the best opportunities to take advantage of?’ but ‘what kind of world do we want to build together?’,” he said. He said this would lead policymakers to think about moral and environmental interests, not just economic ones.
“This question leads us to think of people and of persons rather than capital and economic interests. It is a question that does not look to tomorrow, but further into the future, to the responsibility weighing upon us; handing on this world of ours to those who will come after us, preserving it from environmental degradation and, even before that, from moral degradation,” he added.