President Mnangagwa left Harare for London last night, and will tomorrow join world leaders, celebrities and more than 2 000 guests for the coronation of King Charles III, the monarch of the United Kingdom.
The President was seen off at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe
International Airport by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Defence and War
Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Cabinet ministers, service
chiefs and senior Government officials.
The British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Melanie Robinson was
also at the airport to see the President off to the coronation.
On Wednesday, President Mnangagwa told a Zanu PF Youth
League Conference that the invitation to attend the King’s coronation heralds a
new era in relations between Zimbabwe and the UK.
“I will be going to King Charles’ coronation. So I asked why, when they have put sanctions on
us and they said we have removed them please attend,” the President said.
The visit by President Mnangagwa to London, indeed marks a
new chapter in the relations between the two countries, which have, for more
than two decades, been characterised by estrangement borne from the illegal
imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe by the United Kingdom and her Western
allies.
However, the dawn of the Second Republic in 2017, saw a
major shift as Harare declared its intention to work with the rest of the
world, premised on the “Friends to all and enemy to none” philosophy.
The philosophy, finding expression in the country’s
engagement and re-engagement policy, has seen frosty relations with some
Western nations thawing, a development that has seen President Mnangagwa being
invited to the United Kingdom.
Yesterday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade, David Musabayana, said Zimbabwe, in its quest to become an
upper middle income society by 2030, will reach out to everyone.
“This is a very important development as Zimbabwe continues
on its engagement and re-engagement agenda. We are very clear that Zimbabwe is
a friend of all and enemy of none,” he
said.
Diplomat and Zanu PF spokesperson Cde Chris Mutsvangwa said
the invite extended to President Mnangagwa was significant as it endorses the
engagement and re-engagement strategy.
“There is a lot of history with Britain, checkered in many
instances. This invitation marks a new chapter. It is an endorsement of the
engagement and re-engagement policy. Britain is willing to see relations
improving.
“They are responding to changing political circumstances.
We want our relations to improve. It is important that London and Harare
provide an environment where relations can flourish in all endeavours,.
King Charles III was in Zimbabwe as the Prince of Wales in
1980 when the country’s flag was hoisted, ending years of British colonial
rule. The coronation, which is bringing the world’s who-is-who, will be held at
Westminster Abbey tomorrow.
King Charles will be crowned along with Camilla, the Queen
Consort. He will be the 40th reigning monarch crowned there since 1066. Herald
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