President breaks 23-year diplomatic stand-off with UK

Source: President breaks 23-year diplomatic stand-off with UK.

 

President Mnangagwa is welcomed by the British Minister of African Affairs Andrew Mitchell at London Stansted Airport yesterday ahead of King Charles III’s coronation at Westminister Abbey in London.

Fungi Kwaramba-Political Editor

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa’s engagement and re-engagement drive has broken a 23-year-old diplomatic stand-off between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, a development that bodes well for bilateral relations and investment inflows into the country.

Following the imposition of illegal economic sanctions on Zimbabwe at the turn of the millennium by Britain and her Western allies, the country was frozen out from London and other Western capitals, but that all changed when President Mnangagwa headed to the UK for the coronation of King Charles III last Friday.

For the British, a country that had the prerogative to invite guests to the coronation of its King, that it invited President Mnangagwa to such an event was described as an icebreaker that bodes well for Zimbabwe’s future vis a vis the historic, present and future aspects.

Writing on Twitter, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe and the UK have entered exciting times, both business wise and diplomatically.

“During my trip to London, I had the fantastic opportunity to sit down with the UK Minister for Africa, Rt Hon Andrew Mitchel. Understanding what steps the UK thinks we must take and developing the relationship between the UK and Zimbabwe is an exciting opportunity for all of us,” he said.

President Mnangagwa has been steadfast in his quest to reposition Zimbabwe in the comity of nations, not as a junior partner to any country but an equal member of the global family — as espoused in his policy of “friend to all and enemy to none”.

“At the international and continental level, the Second Republic is deepening economic diplomacy to leap frog our present socio-economic development, modernisation and industrialisation of our beloved motherland. Guided by our overarching national interests, we are embracing those who want to move forward with us in support of the realisation of our own national development priorities.

“Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none. Events such as my attendance of the coronation of King Charles III, over the weekend, as well as the recent hosting of the Transform Africa Summit, coupled with the successful 63rd Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, are set to broaden our country’s trade, investment and people to people exchanges,” the President said at the burial of national hero Abraham Kabasa on Monday.

And the invitation to the UK must be located within that prism as the country makes progress in engaging all nations, including those that still maintain illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe.

An invitation by the major protagonist in the asymmetrical sanctions war for the coronation ceremony will open huge opportunities for the country in its journey to become an upper-middle-class economy by 2030, and lift Zimbabweans to prosperity.

In an interview in London, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the UK, Retired Colonel Christian Katsande, said the invitation is “a testament of our strengthening relations with the UK”.

“We are delighted, we are excited to be here.”

Besides the coronation of King Charles III, President Mnangagwa also showed British investors that Zimbabwe is Open for Business as he had an opportunity to meet a lot of business leaders who showed increased investor interest in Zimbabwe.

The investors were drawn from mining, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors and the meetings also included mobilisation of capital.

“Recently we had the Zimbabwe Capital Markets conference here in London and there were a lot of investors who attended and a lot of those were actually discussing with the counters that are listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange,” said Ambassador Katsande.

Because of the crystal clear policies of the Second Republic, several companies from the UK are expected in the country with representatives of Bergo Group, a company that operates worldwide and has an extensive network of buyers and sellers of gold, coltan, lithium, petroleum (and derivatives), diamonds and other metals through collaborations with national governments, co-operatives, businesses and investors, already on the ground for due diligence.

Apart from opening Zimbabwe to global multinationals, the President is also making inroads on the re-engagement front and during his visit, he also met former British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair, on whose watch the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe were imposed.

“It was an important engagement, because, you are aware the President has indicated that we will be friends to all and an enemy to none. I am walking with more than a spring, we owe this to the wise leadership of the President, the policy guidance, the Foreign Policy thrust of reaffirmation of engagement and re-engagement,” said Ambassador Katsande.

Now, analysts say good times beckon as investors from the UK are not only expressing a willingness to come to Zimbabwe, but have feet on the ground on Zimbabwean soil, exploring opportunities.

Besides meeting British officials and businesses, President Mnangagwa also met with the Commonwealth Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland, amid strong signals that the country could be readmitted to the 56-member bloc of mainly former British colonies.

Political analyst, Mr Gibson Nyikadzino, recently said President Mnangagwa has proved to be a reformist leader who is not stuck in the past.

“Zimbabwe’s foreign policy thrust under President Mnangagwa has moved towards a common-purpose interaction from the belligerent, acrimonious, and turbulent policy shifts by the previous administration that bordered on diplomatic hostility. In that transition, Zimbabwe has been to Commonwealth (a British-led bloc) meetings and attended the US-Africa Summit meeting last December and the Commonwealth has indicated Zimbabwe is making strides to be considered for readmission.

“The new policy is ameliorating the decades-old Zim-Britain rivalry that has been known, thus the extension of the invitation. Zimbabwe is historically, politically and economically connected to some aspects of the British system. So, this transformation and relationship is a signal of what will ultimately become of Zimbabwe-Britain relations. It is a move towards an amicable friendship and restoration of relations,” he said.

Indeed, President Mnangagwa has proved to be catalystic to the transformation of Zimbabwe, not only in the country through socio and economic transformation but also in international relations.

Political analyst, Mr Dereck Goto, said President Mnangagwa’s presence in the UK marked a significant step towards the normalisation of relations between Zimbabwe and its former coloniser.

“The President’s visit provided an opportune moment for both countries to continue re-engaging in pursuit of normalising relations. Furthermore, this invitation is a major success for the Second Republic’s engagement, re-engagement, and re-affirmation drive, as it provided the President with another opportunity to meet with world leaders”.