Russia-Zimbabwe 2025 Trade & Investment and BRICS Application: Update

The Zimbabwe Foreign Minister, Amon Murwira, has been visiting Moscow and has held meetings with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister. Muwira stated that Zimbabwe is keen to join the BRICS group and join the BRICS New Development Bank as a partner state. In addition, he stated that his country was willing to further develop trade and commercial ties with Russia in order to enhance trade and development.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has previously met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2024 where both sides agreed to develop ties.

At the Moscow meeting, additional steps were agreed to identify promising areas for joint engagement, particularly in geological exploration, mineral resource development, nuclear energy, agriculture, space technology, and information and communications technologies.

Lavrov stated “Our discussions also focused on the ongoing conflicts across the African continent, including those in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Somalia, and the Great Lakes region of Africa. We greatly value the efforts of African nations, the African Union, and subregional organisations to alleviate crises on the continent. This includes the work of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which has been instrumental in providing support and resolving the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zimbabwe currently holds the chairmanship of this Community, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa personally leading active mediation efforts.

We discussed the importance of a new format for our communication with Africa, particularly the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, which took place in Sochi in the autumn of 2024. This event was organised based on the decision made at the second Russia-Africa summit held in St Petersburg in 2023. Preparations are already underway for the third summit in 2026. This year, we plan to hold the second ministerial forum in one of the African countries.”

Zimbabwe’s economy is driven by a range of key industries, with manufacturing, agriculture, and mining playing significant roles. The manufacturing sector is dominated by iron ore, steel, and metal fabrication, which make up 26% of the sector. Other important industries include chemicals and petrochemicals, food processing, and beverages, each accounting for 14% of manufacturing output. Despite challenges, agriculture remains a crucial part of Zimbabwe’s economy, contributing around 15% to GDP. It employs more than half of the country’s workforce. Zimbabwe’s agricultural production is diverse, with crops such as maize (corn), the country’s most significant food crop, thriving particularly in the water-rich northeast. Other key agricultural products include tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, and various fruits and vegetables. Mining is also a vital sector for Zimbabwe, with notable resources such as gold, diamonds, platinum, and coal driving exports and foreign investments.

Zimbabwe is a member of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), which aspires to enhance trade and economic cooperation as well as ultimate regional economic unification. Zimbabwe is also a member of Eastern and Southern Africa’s 22-nation Preferential Trade Area (PTA), which permits lower import taxes from its members as long as they follow specific origin regulations. South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana are all parties to bilateral trade agreements with Zimbabwe. Additionally, in 2009, Zimbabwe and the European Commission signed the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) bloc’s provisional Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). All exports from ESA nations that have ratified the EPA are eligible for duty-free and quota-free market access. In 2020, Zimbabwe formally became a member of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Zimbabwe has a population of 16.8 million, with a GDP (PPP) of US$44.5 billion, and a GDP (PPP) per capita of US$2,000. GDP growth for 2025 is estimated at 6%.

Russia has been providing technical assistance and support for Zimbabwe in the nuclear energy sector, with plans to develop a Zimbabwe NPP.

Russia’s bilateral trade with Zimbabwe is worth about US$80 million, with Russian exports including fertilizers, chemical products, transportation and vegetable products. Zimbabwe’s exports include root vegetables, other vegetable products and fruits. Russia’s involvement in training nuclear power engineers will almost certainly mean that Rosatom will be a preferential bidder when contracts to build a NPP in Zimbabwe are tendered.