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President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Zvamaida Murwira and Felex Share, Harare Bureau
Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who arrived in the country yesterday, has pledged to continue working with the new administration led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and take existing bilateral ties to new heights.

President Mbasogo said this last night while addressing journalists at State House after holding a three-hour long closed door meeting with his counterpart, President Mnangagwa.

He was accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising four Cabinet Ministers and several senior Government officials.

Speaking through an interpreter, President Mbasogo said they had come to reinforce already existing bilateral relations which blossomed during the Mr Robert Mugabe-led administration.

“Indeed, it was a timely visit meant to establish our cooperation, bilateral relations with the Government of Zimbabwe as well as to ensure that we give our full support to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his policies to continue to help Zimbabwe for the overall development of this nation,” said President Mbasogo.

Asked if there were any new areas of cooperation, President Mbasogo said their primary focus on the present visit was to deepen existing areas. “We did not at this particular visit come to make new negotiations. We have some from the past. We came to reinforce what we have already established for the development of both nations,” said President Mbasogo.

President Mnangagwa described President Mbasogo’s visit as natural and normal as he had been doing so in the past and would continue to visit Harare in the future.

“This is natural. His Excellency (President Mbasogo) has been coming here in the past and he continues to come here and in future he is going to come. So there is nothing out of the way, this is natural and normal,” said President Mnangagwa.

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said his administration would maintain already existing cooperation agreements and explore more areas.

“We have several agreements between Zimbabwe and the Equatorial Guinea government, we will continue to implement them and embrace new ones as we go forward. We have always worked together. We have had cooperation with Equatorial Guinea; we shall cooperate today and tomorrow and forever,” he said.

President Mbasogo arrived at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in the afternoon and was welcomed by Vice-President General Dr Constantino Chiwenga (Retired) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Lieutenant General (Retired) Dr Sibusiso Moyo, Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri and senior Government officials.

Recently, Zimbabwe Defence Forces deployed military personnel to provide services at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The security personnel contingent, which composed of police, soldiers and intelligence, travelled to Equatorial Guinea at the invitation of President Mbasogo.

Bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea were bolstered in 2004 when Harare foiled an attempted coup by mercenaries to topple President Mbasogo and replace him with exiled Spanish-based opposition leader Mr Severe Moto.

Zimbabwean security forces arrested British mercenary Simon Mann and 69 others at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport when they landed to pick up weapons, while on their way to overthrow President Mbasogo’s government.