President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday, Aug. 10, expressed the Philippines’ willingness to help Zimbabwe develop its agricultural sector to make it more food sufficient.
(From left) Ambassador Constance Chemwayi of Zimbabwe and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shake hands during a meeting in Malacañang on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
This happened during the presentation of credentials by Zimbabwean non-resident Ambassador-designate to the Philippines Constance Chemwayi at the Malacañang Palace.
She told the President that she was looking forward to Zimbabwe learning about how to boost the economy as her country is prioritizing enhancing their agricultural and infrastructure sector with the aim of becoming a middle-income country by 2030.
“Like you, we are prioritizing agriculture. And in fact, it is both the supply and the price of agricultural commodities. And with that, we talk not only about products, but even the inputs such as fertilizer. I think we are all undergoing that,” the Chief Executive said.
“So, I hope that we can find a way. We happen to have a very well-developed research and development and schools that have been actually the premier schools for agriculturists and agronomists here in Asia,” he added.
The ambassador-designate shared that Zimbabwe is also pushing for the creation of more agricultural universities as Marcos underscored the importance of forging an agreement with Zimbabwe to rationalize and institutionalize efforts to boost the agricultural and education sectors of both countries.
Despite Chemwayi being stationed in Malaysia, the Chief Executive said he was looking forward to her future visits as the two countries work to expand and enhance their bilateral relations.
“I hope that your coming today will be the beginning of that close ties,” he added.
The Philippines and Zimbabwe commemorated the 43rd anniversary of diplomatic relations, which was formally established on April 18, 1980.