Zimbabwe is awaiting a decision on its application to join the BRICS economic bloc, Foreign Minister Amon Murwira said during a visit to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Murwira, who is also the country’s Minister of International Trade, arrived in Moscow to discuss bilateral relations with Lavrov.
Following their meeting, Lavrov said relations between Russia and Zimbabwe were built on equality and mutual respect, TV BRICS reported.
“We paid special attention to the need to strengthen trade and economic cooperation, agreed to take additional steps to identify promising areas of joint interests, first of all in geological exploration, development of mineral resources, energy, including nuclear, agriculture, space, as well as information and communication technologies,” Lavrov told reporters.
Lavrov added that Russia provides 125 scholarships annually for Zimbabwean students to study at Russian universities and that Moscow is willing to increase this number. He also announced that the third Russia-Africa summit would be held in 2026, preceded by the second ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in 2025.
Murwira, for his part, highlighted the “excellent relations” between Zimbabwe and Russia in the political arena and said both countries were working to expand ties in the economic sphere.
Responding to a question from TV BRICS correspondent Yana Panferova about Zimbabwe’s potential BRICS membership, Murwira said the bloc represented a key platform for economic cooperation.
“Zimbabwe is currently working on fulfilling the requirements necessary to join BRICS. We are at the application stage and are awaiting a response in line with the consensus reached within the BRICS framework,” Murwira stated.
This visit marks Murwira’s first to Moscow as Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister.
