India, Africa have trade opportunities across sectors: Ex-RBZ Guv

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) India and Africa have come a long way and there are scores of trade opportunities for both countries across sectors, John Panonetsa Mangudya, former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, said here on Tuesday.Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the 19th ‘CII India-Africa Business Conclave’ in the national capital, Mangudya said if you look at both the countries, “we have a combined population of nearly 2.8 billion, so there is plenty of scope for both the nations to grow together on the global stage”.”It is all about further improving relationships between the two countries across industries and this India-Africa conclave is a perfect example of that,” added Mangudya, now the CEO of Mutapa Investment Fund, a state-owned investment company.On Zimbabwe and India trade ties, he said that while Zimbabwe has mineral wealth, India is very strong in the iron and steel sector.In 2022, Zimbabwe exported $13.5 million worth goods, mainly raw tobacco, tea and raw nickel. On the other hand, India exported packaged medicaments, rice and large iron pipes.Earlier this month, the third Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Zimbabwe were held in Harare.Both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations between the two countries, including the existing institutional mechanisms such as the Joint Commission and the Joint Trade Committee.According to the government, cooperation in the fields of defence, agriculture, health, mines, minerals and geology, digital platforms, education, training and capacity building and cultural exchanges were discussed.In May, during the India-Zimbabwe Joint Trade Committee (JTC) in Delhi, the delegates from both the countries discussed greater cooperation and addressed pending issues towards boosting trade and investment.Both the countries identified several areas of cooperation, including pharmaceuticals, geospatial sector, healthcare, machinery and mechanical appliances, vehicles, electrical machinery, mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of distillation, plastics and articles, iron and steel, agriculture and food processing, engineering sector, renewable energy, digital economy, textiles and capacity building, etc.–IANSna/pgh