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Harare Bureau

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday dispatched Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe as an envoy to Conakry, Guinea, where he delivered a special message to President Alpha Condé.

Minister Kazembe also discussed matters of mutual interest with President Condé.

The visit to Conakry by Minister Kazembe follows another visit to Kigali, Rwanda, on November 6 where he met President Paul Kagame.

In Kigali, Minister Kazembe also delivered a special message from President Mnangagwa and held discussions on matters of mutual interest and solidarity in his capacity as President Mnangagwa’s special envoy.

Minister Kazembe told our sister paper The Herald from Conakry yesterday that he was delivering messages of solidarity given the relations between Zimbabwe and Guinea.

“The purpose of the visit was to bring a message from my President, His Excellency Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

“Basically, it was a message of solidarity in recognition of the relationship that exists between the two countries. As you can appreciate, President Mnangagwa was here last year. 

“We are also expecting to receive the Guinea President in Zimbabwe in the near future.”

Minister Kazembe is expected to visit several other African countries as part of Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement policy which President Mnangagwa has been pushing since assuming office in 2017.

The President wants Zimbabwe to continue relating well with countries that did not turn their backs on Harare in the last decade.

Through the re-engagement policy, Zimbabwe also seeks to re-establish cordial relations with countries in the West such as the United States and European Union (EU) member states. 

The re-engagement policy reaches a milestone next week when the second session of the Zimbabwe and European Union (EU) formal political dialogue is elevated to ministerial level. 

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo will co-chair the meeting with EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Timo Olkkonen.