Zimbabwe has reiterated its commitment to increasing foreign investment following the recent easing of United States sanctions on the country.

During a recent two-day Zimbabwe Investment Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, several Zimbabwean government ministers stressed their eagerness to welcome new and increased foreign investment into the country.  

They highlighted the opportunities arising from the partial lifting of sanctions as well as the investor-friendly policies and incentives offered by the government.

Zimbabwe aims to attract foreign investment across all sectors of the economy to facilitate its transformation into an upper-middle-income economy by 2030, according to Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube during the official opening of the summit.

"The main objective of this summit is to drive investment in all sectors of the economy as well as to position Zimbabwe as a profitable investment destination," the minister said.

He added that the country's post-pandemic economic recovery has been strong and continues on an upward trajectory.

"Zimbabwe has been growing strongly, and it probably has been the fastest-growing economy in southern Africa over the past three years. Compared to where the global economy is, you can see that Zimbabwe is bucking the trend," Ncube stated.

Furthermore, the minister said that Zimbabwe's financial services sector, currently dominated by commercial and microfinance banking, requires strengthening through increased investment in investment banking.

"The market is open to all investors, issuers, market intermediaries, foreign and domestic, including Zimbabweans in the diaspora," he added.

Additionally, Elias Magosi, executive secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), reiterated the regional economic grouping's stance on advocating for the total and unconditional removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe. He said this would enable Zimbabwe to achieve its full economic potential.

"You can label them and say they are partial sanctions, but they remain sanctions regardless, even if there is only one person sanctioned," he said during the summit.

"Investors outside, especially those from the developed world, the moment they see or hear the word sanctions, they do not care how it is disaggregated," Magosi added. "This is why SADC's consistent message has been the total, unconditional removal of sanctions so that Zimbabwe can then attract investment and join meaningful activation of economic development like all the other 15 SADC member states."