Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe’s “Look East” program is pitting two countries against one another: China and India.
India has taken China’s lead and entered Zimbabwe’s mining sector with its steel giant, Essar Africa Holdings Ltd. (EAHL), winning a $750-million bid for a major steel infrastructure project in the country in 2010. With this, other Indian investors began to take notice. Last month, India and Zimbabwe signed a deal to strengthen investment and trade between the two countries.
The southern African country has yet to ratify the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA), but India is hoping that the legislation will be expedited as more Indian businesses strike agreements with local partners. India is looking to further its growth in Zimbabwe’s platinum, gold, coal, copper, nickel, and iron ore fields while also hoping to help develop renewable energy schemes for the country.
In order for India to gain more priority, it will need to find a way to beat out the already on-the-ground Chinese. The influx of Chinese to Zimbabwe now makes them the second largest ethnic group, outnumbering the previous population numbers made up of white settlers.
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