By Christopher Makaza

The United Nations has expressed its willingness to support Zimbabwe under the Zimbabwe UN Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF), Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Sibusiso Moyo has said.

Addressing 15 Ambassadors-Designates and 23 foreign affairs officials, who are undergoing a month long Diplomatic Training Course in Msasa Harare yesterday before their final deployment to various countries, Minister Moyo said as an important development partner for the country, the UN was actively engaged in a wide variety of support and capacity building programmes and projects across the country.

“Zimbabwe fully subscribes to the UN founding principles and Charter and supports the maintenance of international peace and security, economic and social development, friendly relations among nations, and international cooperation, peaceful co-existence and the pursuit of common objectives.

“It will continue to be an active member of the UN and its ancillary bodies including the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the IMF,” he said.

Recently, the UN donated 80MT of assorted relief items to support 10,000 people affected by cyclone Idai in Chipinge district.

Minister Moyo highlighted that Zimbabwe will at the multilateral levels continue to be guided by forging solidarity and cohesion with other developing countries through organisations such as Non-Aligned Movement, and promoting South-South cooperation through the Group of Seventy seven (G77) and China with the overall goal of promoting development, international solidarity, peace and security in the global village.

At the African Union (AU) level, Minister Moyo said Government was committed to playing an active role towards the realisation of the Organisation`s goals and objectives adding that Zimbabwe will continue to support efforts by the African Union to promote peace, development and continental integration as envisaged in the AU`s Agenda 2063.