FOREIGN Affairs and International Trade minister Frederick Shava (pictured) says he is committed to bolstering the government’s re-engagement efforts to end Zimbabwe’s isolation.
Speaking at a meeting with the country’s media editors on Friday, Shava said his vision is to promote policy directives laid down by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in November 2017 to make Zimbabwe a friend to all.
“The ministry will strive to end the country’s isolation through continued engagement and re-engagement with all members of the international community. “Rebranding our country’s battered image, consolidating old friendships and opening new economic frontiers of mutual beneficial co-operation will thus remain a critical foreign policy objective,” he said.
“Through forging strong alliances with old, new and future allies, Zimbabwe can regain its rightful place in the international arena. In pursuit of His Excellency the President’s vision of seeing Zimbabwe actively participating in the multilateral arena, the ministry will step up its efforts and engage directly with our cooperating partners to increase our global influence. Through building strong alliances, Zimbabwe has great potential to influence global developments, if only we can strategically harness our resources.”
Re-engagement efforts with the West have suffered setbacks, with renewed sanctions being imposed on more politicians and businesspeople accused of perpetrating human rights abuse and fuelling corruption.
Shava said he will also continue to implement the Foreign Affairs ministry’s development strategies focused on championing Zimbabwe’s efforts to improve the country’s image and international relations.
The government has in the past engaged several international public relations firms to spruce up the country’s image, but to no avail.
“In broad terms, the ministry’s strategies will include but not be limited to increasing global visibility, building strong alliances at both bilateral and multilateral levels and boosting attractiveness by building a positive image to the outside world,” Shava said.
“We will redouble our efforts towards fulfilling our primary economic diplomacy role of facilitating economic and commercial exchanges between Zimbabwe and strategic partners. In so doing, our end goal is to position our business sector to increase exports to a diversity of markets and attract sustainable investments from strategic countries to Zimbabwe.” —STAFF WRITER.
