By Davison Vandira
ZIMBABWE and the United Arab Emirates continue to deepen economic ties after the signing of a joint venture agreement between government and IntraPharma to construct a US$100 million pharmaceutical company in Zimbabwe.
The agreement signed in Harare this Thursday is earmarked to transform Zimbabwe’s health sector in line with the Second Republic’s development thrust.
Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube who spoke at the signing ceremony, highlighted that the initiative seeks to create an efficient pharmaceutical hub within the African continent.
“We have agreed that the company will be focusing on three main aspects that are establishment of pharmaceutical production plant, Distribution of pharmaceutical products and creation of a Logistics hub for pharmaceutical products within the region,” he said.
The United Arab Emirates based company’s chairman Ibrahim Ramel noted that Zimbabwe presents a lucrative investment base that will help the enterprise penetrate the rest of Africa.
“We are delighted by the opportunity that we have been given by the government of Zimbabwe to invest in the country hence we are taking this joint venture seriously and we are already making logistics to kick-start this project without further delays,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Jasper Chimedza is excited at the prospect of the country manufacturing its own medical drugs.
“As a country we are importing majority of our medicines and the coming of IntraPharma is good news to our drug import bill and will come with various economic spinoffs,” he said.
The coming in of IntraPharma is another milestone in the Second Republic’s engagement and re-engagement policy.
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