Zimbabwe has intensified its push for energy security, digital transformation and infrastructure modernisation after Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube held high-level engagements with Russian government officials and strategic institutions on the sidelines of the New Development Bank (NDB) Annual Meetings in Moscow.
In a statement yesterday, Professor Ncube said Zimbabwe was positioning itself to leverage advanced technologies and strategic partnerships to accelerate industrialisation and economic transformation under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030.
“On the sidelines of the New Development Bank Annual Meetings in Moscow, I engaged in strategic discussions with the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, H.E. Ivan Chebeskov, as well as key institutions on strengthening cooperation in nuclear energy, financial markets, infrastructure financing and alternative payment systems,” Professor Ncube said.
The Minister revealed that Zimbabwe’s discussions with Russian partners included possible cooperation with Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, as the country seeks scalable long-term energy solutions.
“The engagements included dialogue with partners such as Rosatom, focusing on scalable energy solutions, including modular nuclear technologies, as part of efforts to enhance Zimbabwe’s long-term energy security,” he said.
During the engagements Professor Ncube outlined Zimbabwe’s ambitious infrastructure development agenda centred on technology-driven economic growth.
“I outlined Zimbabwe’s evolving infrastructure agenda, highlighting the development of AI-ready economic zones with data centre capacity, expansion of renewable energy systems such as solar and the integration of captive power solutions to support digital infrastructure,” he said.
Professor Ncube said emerging technologies were fundamentally changing the nature of infrastructure development and public administration.
“Emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, are reshaping how infrastructure is designed, operated and monetised, including more efficient, automated systems for public service delivery and revenue collection,” he noted.
The engagements form part of Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement policy aimed at strengthening international partnerships, attracting investment and supporting the country’s bid for BRICS membership.
The New Development Bank was established by BRICS nations to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging economies.
