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Bongani Ndlovu, Online Reporter

UNITED Kingdom Ambassador to Zimbabwe Melanie Robinson is impressed with the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo and says it has vast potential.

This year the United Kingdom returned to the ZITF to exhibit, as the Second Republic’s re-engagement thrust continues to bear fruit.

While Zimbabwe has been isolated from the Western world for more than two decades owing largely to the Land Reform Programme, which restored land to its rightful owners, the country has managed to turn a new page due to President Mnangagwa’s thrust of “friend to all, enemy to none”.

Posting on her Twitter page, Ambassador Robinson said: “I must have visited more than 30 stands at #ZITF. So many connections to make & great things to see: from @ZHRC365 & the Office of the Auditor General where we discussed human rights & accountability, to @Econet with their tech, and the stands of Embassy friends. Well done ZITF!”

Relations with countries like the United Kingdom and the United States are now thawing, with President Mnangagwa set to visit the UK in early May for the coronation of King Charles III.

The coronation of King Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen consort of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey.

The imminent visit would be President Mnangagwa’s first visit to the United Kingdom since he came into power in 2017.

Ambassador Robinson spoke to the media after meeting the President and said the two discussed arrangements for the coronation ceremony of King Charles III.