Iran has expressed strong interest in partnering with Zimbabwe in the fast-growing field of medical tourism, a sector both nations believe holds vast potential for investment, technology transfer and improved healthcare delivery.
This development was revealed by the Iranian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Amir Hossein Hosseini, following his courtesy call on Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga in Harare yesterday.
The subject is expected to dominate discussions during the ninth session of the Mid-Term Review of the Zimbabwe–Iran Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation, slated for later this month. The meeting comes ahead of President Mnangagwa’s anticipated State Visit to Iran.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Ambassador Hosseini said discussions focused on activating and implementing several cooperation agreements already signed between the two governments. These include 12 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) covering various sectors, which were concluded during President Mnangagwa’s engagement with the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during his 2023 State Visit to Zimbabwe.
Ambassador Hosseini described his engagement with VP Chiwenga as warm, constructive and forward-looking.
“First of all, it was a great and true pleasure for me and my colleagues to meet VP Chiwenga. We benefited from his thoughtful and insightful remarks regarding the latest situation of our bilateral relations. We touched upon key issues in our bilateral agenda. It was a very constructive and positive discussion,” he said.
He added that both countries were committed to strengthening cooperation across health, political and economic sectors.
“We hope that during my stay in Zimbabwe, I can take certain decisive steps to promote our bilateral relations. We also discussed our high-level political engagements, including the visit of His Excellency President Mnangagwa to Iran, as well as the visit of our First Vice President, Dr Aref, to Zimbabwe.”
The renewed momentum signals a growing strategic partnership focused on shared development priorities, especially in healthcare innovation and medical tourism.
Zimbabwe has long sought opportunities to strengthen its health sector through innovation, reduced import dependency and increased access to affordable medical supplies. As such, Iran’s pharmaceutical industry, which locally manufactures nearly 95 percent of the country’s medical drugs and consumables, presents an attractive model Zimbabwe hopes to tap into.
