Officials in Zimbabwe and Mozambique are determined to boost tourism and infrastructure development in the two countries. The director of Tourism in Mozambique, Fredson Bacar last week said his country had a lot to learn from Zimbabwe’s tourism, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy.

Mr. Fredson suggested that Mozambique would take advantage of the Memorandum of Understanding which was signed by the two countries in November last year. The agreement was aimed at promoting tourism co-operation.

He said Mozambique wanted Zimbabweans to help develop infrastructure destroyed by years of civil war in the 1980s. “As a government, we are putting a lot of effort but we need people with expertise to develop our country. Mozambican laws are very liberal and we will not impose projects on our foreign investors,” said the Mozambican official.

Bacar added that Mozambique was a safe tourist and investment destination despite threats posed by Renamo fighters. “Mozambique has no war. We are surprised to read in the papers about this so-called war. It is just in Mushungwe district where soldiers of Renamo and Frelimo had a clash some 200km to Save River. This area is currently the center of controversy and the government is negotiating with Renamo to end the conflict.”

The Mozambican official was on a follow-up visit following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on November 29. The Memorandum of Understanding seeks to create and enhance tourism relations between the two countries to boost economic growth through the development of the tourism sectors. In the Memorandum of Understanding, the two countries seek to further market and promote research and planning tourism investment promotion among others. Mozambique has already set the ball rolling, with a six-member delegation touring some of the facilities in Manicaland province.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) Manicaland area manager Daniel Mupande said Mozambique was set to benefit from Zimbabwean tourism and travel expertise. “During discussions, we noted that our counterparts do not have institutions like publicity associations. This joint effort is expected to produce a lot of yields in such a way that tourists will be moving from each member country without any restriction.