The Omicron variant of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was recently discovered, has forced the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) to postpone the Rwanda Zimbabwe Business Conference which was set for today in Harare, the confederation has announced.
In a statement posted on its Twitter handle, the CZI announced that the event, which it was set to hold in conjunction with the export promotion body, ZimTrade and the national investment promotion parastatal, the Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority (ZIDA), has been cancelled.
“(The) CZI would like to advise of the cancellation of the planned Rwanda-Zimbabwe Business Conference (which was scheduled for 29 November 2021 at the Rainbow Towers, Harare) as the Rwandan Team travel arrangements were made complex by the recently discovered Omicron variant in South Africa. As a result of this heightened Covid-19 risk, several flights bound for Southern Africa were cancelled,” read part of the statement.
The CZI informed its stakeholders that the event would be held in future when the Covid-19 pandemic situation permits.
“The visit and business conference will be planned for a later date in line with the respective government advice on Covid-19 related risks,” the confederation said.
The Rwandan business delegation, apart from the conference, planned to visit main investment and economic sites in Harare such as food processing plants, soya and cooking oil processing, milling operations, construction entities, ICT businesses, energy and manufacturing sites.
According to the CZI, the delegation was seeking opportunities for business partnerships to operate in Zimbabwe and Rwanda and markets in both countries.
