ZIMBABWE and the European Union (EU) yesterday kicked off
their first formal dialogue in 17 years, which Harare hopes will thaw frosty
relations and lead to resumption of direct aid to its battered economy.
But the southern African nation faces pressure to improve
its human rights record and agree to critical political and economic reforms.
Zimbabwe has had a chequered history with the bloc under
former President Robert Mugabe’s nearly four-decade rule. The EU imposed sanctions on some of the country’s leaders
and several State-owned firms over alleged human rights abuses.
Mugabe constantly denied the allegations and regularly
referred to the EU as colonialists and opined that the sanctions were
responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic collapse.
The EU now only maintains the sanctions on Mugabe, his wife
Grace and the Zimbabwe Defence Industries, a State-owned arms manufacturer, but
has not provided direct aid to Harare since 2002, preferring to channel the
funds via local non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies.
At the talks in Harare, Zimbabwe’s delegation is being led
by Foreign Affairs permanent secretary James Manzou and the EU by its
ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen.
Olkkonen said the discussion focused on investments, human
rights, rule of law, democracy and development co-operation.
“Against this background, we are looking forward to
discussing and exchanging views on a number of important issues of common
interest, ranging from economic development, trade and investment, to climate
change and its humanitarian impact, to human rights, democratisation, rule of
law and good governance as well as development cooperation, migration and
regional and international co-operation,” he said.
Olkkonen emphasised that the dialogue platform must be made
on equal footing and discussions must be frank through free exchange of views.
“The government of Zimbabwe has been clear that significant
political and economic reforms are necessary for the benefit of its people. The
EU is there to support Zimbabwe move ahead with its reform agenda. In this, we
want to be a constructive, credible and transparent partner,” he said.
Manzou said he was convinced that a strong foundation for
frank discussions on all issues had been laid.
He added that in their closed-door engagements, they should
never be afraid of tackling hard issues as they endeavour to build bridges and
find a common ground on sticky matters.
“This event, that brings us together, marks another
milestone in the government’s re-engagement efforts and, indeed, in the
strengthening of relations between Zimbabwe and the European Union,” Manzou
said.
“As you are all aware, re-engagement, and particularly
re-engagement with the European Union, is one of the foreign policy priorities
of the government of Zimbabwe.”
Manzou, who was accompanied by other permanent secretaries
from various ministries such as Lands, Justice and Finance, said the country
was already making strides on some of the issues of concern.
“As we will discuss today and in the future, the government
is already making significant strides in political and economic reforms that
are key to creating a conducive environment for business and more importantly
to improving the lives of the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“Through this formal dialogue, we at the officials level
have been given the task to come together as equal partners and jointly find
ways of strengthening relations between Zimbabwe and the European Union.”
Various ambassadors from EU member countries, among them
France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Belgium, are participating in
the discussions.
Shunned by the West and international lenders, Zimbabwe is
struggling to deal with its worst economic crisis in a decade. Newsday
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