Harare, (New Ziana) – President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday swore into office the country’s new Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Minister, Dr Frederick Shava, who pledged to forge ahead with the country’s re-engagement agenda and boosting trade.
Dr Shava, who was Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the United Nations before the latest promotion, replaces late Retired Lieutenant General Sibusiso Moyo who succumbed to Covid-19 in January.
“There is nothing new, I will continue with the pronouncements made by the President at the inception of the new dispensation that Zimbabwe would like to be a friend of all and an enemy of none and in pursuit of that, we are going to try our best to re-affirm our friendship with our all weather friends, countries that never left us, even at the
height of our problems with the international community. We will do that reaffirmation,” Dr Shava told journalists after being sworn in.
“We are going to engage new countries, who may not have supported us in the past but whom we want to support us now and we are going to re-engage with countries that might have been disgruntled at the onset of our land reform programme which led to various sanctions by various institutions and we are going to take them again.”
The United States and the European Union slapped Zimbabwe with sanctions in retaliation after Harare carried out the historic land reform programme that saw government compulsorily acquire vast tracts of land previously owned by minority whites for resettlement to landless blacks.
Harare estimates the blockade, which saw the country being blocked from accessing financial support from multi-lateral institutions, cost the economy billions in potential earnings, and slowed its development potential.
Dr Shava said crucial focus would also be given to boosting the country’s trade potential to generate more foreign currency.
“We are also going to work hard to make sure that we have visibility in sub-regional and regional organisations especially those to do with trade,” he said.
New Ziana
