The party’s secretary for international relations, Gladys Hlatshwayo, told the Daily News on Sunday that the MDC will be represented by Elliot-PFebve.
The summit, being hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will be attended by dozens of African heads of state.
“We are indeed attending the summit and-PFebve will be our representative there. We are registered for the summit because it benefits us as a party,” Hlatshwayo said.
While President Emmerson Mnangagwa has not been invited, leaders of Africa’s economic powerhouses – South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta – have confirmed attendance at the London summit being held at the same time as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Zimbabwe, would, however, be represented at Davos – the annual get-together of global leaders in politics, academia and business where delegates pay US$27 000 each for a ticket.
Reacting to the planned summit, presidential spokesperson George Charamba took to Twitter saying: “Let’s see what happens in the United Kingdom and to those invited.
“Methinks the UK uses false diplomacy to steady home nerves arising from Brexit. The UK is no longer an investing global power; long ceased to be thus!”
This comes as Britain is formalising its disengagement from the European Union (Brexit) after Johnson won an overwhelming mandate in December.
The London summit would bring together businesses, governments and international institutions “to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa.”
“The summit will strengthen the UK’s partnership with African nations to build a secure and prosperous future for all our citizens. It will mobilise new and substantial investment to create jobs and boost mutual prosperity,” the British government said.
The UK-Africa trade, according to Britain, was worth over £33 billion in 2018, and about 2,000 British businesses currently operate in Africa.
