Staff reporter
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s invitation to the United Kingdom (UK) to attend the coronation of King Charles III, was a significant icebreaker in the Zimbabwe-United Kingdom bilateral relations, said former Cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo.
Writing on his twitter handle, he said, “After 23 years Uk-ZIM Bilateral Relations Have Thawed.”
Professor Jonathan Moyo said the invite was a significant icebreaker and it meant that the 23-year old diplomatic jinx between Britain and Zimbabwe had been broken.
“The King Charles III Coronation invitation to the President of Zimbabwe, is the first bilateral invite to the country’s Head of State in 23 years, it was therefore a significant icebreaker in the UK-Zim bilateral relations. It was a big deal. What is important is that the invitation to the President of Zimbabwe by British authorities to attend a major national event of historic importance to their history and governance, means that the 23-year-old diplomatic jinx between Britain and Zimbabwe has been broken,” said Professor Moyo.
Additionally, this follows as some local media outlets continue to churn out negative stories about the progress being made by President Mnangagwa, arguing that these media outlets were focusing on the wrong things like the sitting arrangements of delegates at the coronation event.
“ The thawing of bilateral relations between the UK and Zimbabwe is therefore not to be measured by the photo opportunities or the number therefore that President Mnangagwa had or was left out from at the coronation of King Charles III, or the number of high profile courtesy calls and visits that he had, or whether the Secretary General of the Commonwealth did in fact use or abuse her courtesy meeting with him to tell him to ‘reform or no readmission’, something which will be decided by perception and not reality, or where and with whom President Mnangagwa sat with at the official event, although it is clear that he sat in the same VVIP area with other heads of state and government such as Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema and Malawi’s Lazarus Chakwera,” said Professor Jonathan Moyo.
Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa continues to pursue engagement drive maintaining that Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none as he forges forward with the engagement and re-engagement policy. The just ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) is proof that Zimbabwe’s foreign policy is bearing fruit as witnessed by the European Union (EU) and the United States exhibiting at the ZITF for the first time since the imposition of the illegal sanctions 23years ago.
