THE European Union (EU) has pledged unwavering support to President Mnangagwa’s Government in its re-engagement efforts aimed at repositioning Zimbabwe’s economy on a growth trajectory in line with Vision 2030.
Posting on his official, Twitter page, the EU commissioner for International Co-operation and Development, Mr Neven Mimica, said he met President Mnangagwa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the sidelines of the 32nd Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly and the two had a fruitful discussion.
Mr Mimica pledged to support Zimbabwe in its re-engagement efforts.
“On the margins of the AU Summit, I met with the President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa, a few months after my visit to Harare. We took stock of what has been achieved and agreed that more needs to be done. EU (is) ready to step up its support if conditions are met,” he said.
During his visit to the country last year in April, Mr Mimica said the EU was ready to work with President Mnangagwa’s Government in formulating policies that will enable it to turn around the country’s economic fortunes.
Economic development is at the centre of the Second Republic as evidenced by multi-billion dollars investment commitments which lay the ground for the creation of an upper middle income economy by 2030.
The country’s re-engagement efforts were also buttressed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which also pledged to help mobilise resources to ensure Zimbabwe’s economy is revived.
UNDP administrator, Mr Achim Steiner, said they would continue to engage Zimbabwe to ensure that its economic recovery is supported from the perspective of an engagement with the international community.
“During the African Union Summit we met with Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa to discuss how UNDP can enhance its support for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and reforms – including a focus on women and youth,” he posted on his Twitter account.
Last week Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, through his Twitter account, said his country would continue supporting Zimbabwe on its journey to economic revival and international re-engagement.
He said he was pleased that Zimbabwe is working towards addressing its challenges.
President Kenyatta also condemned the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe.
He joins other African leaders who are calling for lifting of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe imposed by the West.
Recently, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took the campaign against illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe to the 49th edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Speaking at an International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting ahead of the WEF, President Ramaphosa said the sanctions against Zimbabwe were stifling the country’s economic growth.
Zimbabwe has been labouring under illegal Western sanctions which have hurt the economy for about 20 years.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo on Saturday said Zimbabwe’s re-engagement efforts were on track after President Mnangagwa’s administration briefed the world about the violent demonstrations that rocked the country last month.
Dr Moyo, who is part of President Mnangagwa’s delegation to the 32nd Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly, said the politically motivated disturbances failed to derail re-engagement efforts.
He said the Government is in contact with the world and many now appreciate the circumstances surrounding the disturbances that the MDC-Alliance and its partners engineered, stoking violent protests that prompted security forces to step in.
The opposition sought to besmirch the image of security forces by alleging that disproportionate force had been used against protesters.
