Azeri ambassador presents credentials to Mugabe

Ambassadors from Azerbaijan, Botswana and Poland yesterday presented their credentials to President Mugabe at State House and pledged to enhance diplomatic ties between Zimbabwe and their countries.

Azerbaijan, which is opening its first diplomatic mission in Harare, said it was ready to co-operate with Zimbabwe in various sectors of the economy.

The country's ambassador, Elkhan Polukhov, who will be based in Pretoria, South Africa, told reporters after meeting President Mugabe that relations between Harare and Baku date back to the days when Azerbaijan was still part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

He said his country was ready to share its experiences with Zimbabwe, especially in the area of Information and Technology, energy and mining.

"Today we hope to start building relations in capacity of independence as Azerbaijan is not part of the Soviet Union," he said. "We believe that there are opportunities, especially in the sphere of agriculture where His Excellency (President Mugabe) indicated that we still export some tobacco products from here. We believe that we can expand our relations in many other spheres like education, exchange of students."

ANN.Az