In the margins of CHOGM Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
welcomed his Zimbabwean counterpart Foreign (and Trade) Minister Sibusiso Moyo
to London for a roundtable with other international partners.
The historic meeting ushers in a new era in UK-Zimbabwe
relations and symbolises Zimbabwe’s commitment to engaging meaningfully with
the international community.
The Foreign Secretary said:
President
Mnangagwa has been in power for 150 days and while Zimbabwe has made impressive
progress, there’s still much to do. That’s why
Britain, the Commonwealth and the wider international community will do
everything it can in supporting Zimbabwe on its path of reform.
But we must
remember democracies are not made in a day. July’s election
will be a bellwether for the direction of a new Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe
Government must deliver the free and fair elections the people of Zimbabwe
deserve and which it has promised. The UK stands ready in friendship to support
a Zimbabwe that fully embraces the rule of law, human rights and economic
reform.
There is a great deal of interest in Zimbabwe applying to
rejoin the Commonwealth after their election in July. Applying is a matter for
the Zimbabwean people to decide. Zimbabwe would have to formally apply to the
Commonwealth Secretariat and the final decision would then be for all
Commonwealth members. However, the UK would strongly support Zimbabwe’s
re-entry and a new Zimbabwe that is committed to political and economic reform
that works for all its people.
Today’s meeting reinstated the commitment of the British
government to the people of Zimbabwe. The UK currently provides £91m in
bilateral UK aid to the people of Zimbabwe in 2017/18. This includes the
further £5 million the Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin announced to
support free and fair elections during her visit in February.
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