Vice President Joice Mujuru yesterday met her Indian counterpart Dr Hamid Ansari at his offices.

The two leaders met behind closed doors and discussed several issues of mutual interest to their two countries.

The Vice President later met representatives of Indian companies interested in investing in Zimbabwe on the sidelines of the 8th India-Africa Conclave where Zimbabwe is the foci.

Representatives of Indian multi-national companies expressed interest in investing in mining, agriculture and infrastructure development.

Oversees Infrastructure Alliance India Pvt Ltd chairperson Ambassador VB Soni, who was the first to call on the Vice President, said Zimbabwe was the place to be at the moment.

He said his company was interested in infrastructure such as electricity and communication transmission, agriculture, water management and transportation.

“From here we are going to go and sit down and talk to one or two people to see how we can best structure our investment proposal,” he said

Cosmos International general manager, Mr Ninsi Manshani, expressed his company’s wish to venture into infrastructure development and roads.

He said they wanted spruce up roads and the rail infrastructure before the UNWTO General Assembly, which Zimbabwe will jointly host with Zambia next year.

“Africa and India share a history and are natural partners for the future as both our economies have a lot to offer. We need to engage and leverage on each other’s strength,” he said.

Seftech India Private Limited executive director, Mr Ranjeet Chaturvedi said they were keen to invest in the country.

He pledged his company’s commitment to finding the funds from the Indian government for setting up infrastructure and major investments in Zimbabwe.

He said their main focus was in mining.

Mr Rajiv Naphande who is the head of export markets for Mohan Exports, said they were keen on initiating agro-processing plants such as tomato canning amongst others that were aimed at assisting small-scale farmers.

Vice President Mujuru said that such type of a project was critical for the country as it complemented the land reform programmes that was initiated by President

Mugabe to empower Zimbabweans through the redistribution of land.

The second day of the 8th India-Africa conclave saw special plenary sessions being held on a variety issues ranging from India Africa partnerships, trade and project financing, biomass as a major source of clean energy particularly for remote regions as well as agriculture as a key sector to promote economic growth and reduce poverty.

Researchers and delegates to the India Africa congress noted that investment in and access to agriculture equipment, information, training and improved technology are all essential to increasing agriculture productivity.

The Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Zimbabweans based here have organised a Zimbabwe Day tomorrow where it will launch the national tourism brand “Zimbabwe A World of Wonders”.