In pursuit of realizing the nation’s 2030 vision to become an upper-middle-income society, the 2024 Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference was held in the resort city of Victoria Falls and focused on building resilience to climate change.

ZEDCON 2024 main organiser, Prof. Ashok Chakravarti addresses delegates at the conference in Victoria Falls

The Conference ran under the theme ‘Building Resilience and Driving Economic Transformation under Climate Change’ from 14-18 September 2024 at the prestigious Elephant Hills Hotel in Victoria Falls.

Addressing the conference, His Excellency Mr. Edward Kallon, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Zimbabwe, thanked the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion, and particularly Professor Ashok Chakravarti for his unwavering commitment to facilitating policy and research in working towards realizing the nation’s 2030 vision to become an upper-middle-income society.

“The conference’s theme, “Building Resilience and Driving Economic Transformation under Climate Change,” is particularly timely as Zimbabwe, the SADC region and the world face recurrent climatic shocks. The present El Niño-induced drought, the most severe in 40 years, affecting millions, underscores the urgency of our task.

“Zimbabwe, like many other countries, faces significant challenges due to the impacts of climate change. The El Nino phenomenon has had negative implications on economic growth, agricultural yields, food security, energy, water, sanitation and hygiene, health, and education sectors. The drought cut Zimbabwe’s cereal production by 77 percent, leaving about 60 percent of the country’s population food insecure,” HE Kallon said.