Sekai Manyere and Gibson Nyikadzino-Herald Reporters
THE relationship between Zimbabwe and the European Union is maturing as the two partners continue to engage in frank dialogue, with commitments to open new frontiers of co-operation anchored on trade, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Albert Chimbindi, has said.
Ambassador Chimbindi made the remarks at the 2026 Zimbabwe-EU Partnership Dialogue meeting in Harare yesterday, which he co-chaired with the EU’s Head of Division for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean at the European External Action Service (EEAS), Ms Carolina Cordeiro.
“We have clearly shown that our relationship is maturing, which must be the case. We acknowledge that we have travelled a very long distance from where we were to where we are now.
“Together we have a mutually shared desire to move the relationship forward, taking note of what happened in the past, taking that as an experience that we have, and benefitting from hindsight,” Ambassador Chimbindi said.
Zimbabwe-EU relations are on the mend and have been taking a positive trajectory since the Second Republic’s re-engagement and engagement policy anchored on the mantra, “friend to all, enemy of none”.
Amb Chimbindi highlighted that it is important for the two partners to work on opportunities presented by this relationship as they move from aid to trade and investment cooperation.
“Our national approach is to give pride of place to trade rather than aid. Zimbabwe is fully convinced that it has something it can offer competitively to the EU. We also believe that there is something that the EU can competitively offer to Zimbabwe.
“In every sector, indeed, there are some areas where we can combine our respective comparative advantages and work together for mutual benefits. We are all realising that some opportunities might have been lost during the time that we were under sanctions.
“The EU has also realised that Zimbabwe is a reliable partner and would want to join us in taking forward our priorities under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and also in fulfillment of Vision 2030,” he said.
The EU is one of Zimbabwe’s biggest trading partners, with volumes nearing the US$1 billion mark, supported by a positive trade balance and recent diplomatic re-engagement.
Ms Cordeiro said although the two parties were meeting at a time “geopolitical fragmentation is growing and armed conflicts continue to ravage”, the EU is keen to deepen its political engagement with Zimbabwe on the basis of shared interests.
“We meet at a time when international order is increasingly under strain. Geopolitical fragmentation is growing and armed conflicts continue to ravage — from Ukraine to the Middle East and, in Africa, in Sudan, or the Great Lakes region. The erosion of multilateral institutions and of international law, the foundational structures created to preserve peace and stability, is a shared concern.
“The EU is also keen to deepen its political engagement with Zimbabwe on the basis of our shared interests and universal principles,” Ms Cordeiro said.
The dialogue meeting, which happens to be the first one since 2024, was attended by senior Government officials and Heads of Mission from EU member states accredited in Zimbabwe, among them Greece, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, among others.
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