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The Zimbabwe-European Union Article 8 political dialogue, whose third session was held in Harare last year, should continue as the two parties seek to broaden the discussions, outgoing EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen said yesterday.
Mr Olkkonen was speaking after paying a farewell courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House.
The desire to continue dialogue is a notable expression of the EU on the re-engagement and engagement process initiated by President Mnangagwa to re-integrate Zimbabwe into the global community.
This follows years of frosty relations with the EU after Zimbabwe’s fallout with the United Kingdom over the historical land issue.
President Mnangagwa, who is the driving force behind the re-engagement drive, has always maintained that dialogue is the only way to solve issues.
This stance has charmed various international bodies, including the EU which early this year removed Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Commander Zimbabwe Defence Force General Valerio Sibanda and former First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe from its sanctions list.
The EU’s decision to review the illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe became the first since former colonial power Britain, which drummed up support for the sanctions initially imposed in 2002, formally withdrew from the EU.
Mr Olkkonen said during his farewell meeting with President Mnangagwa, they discussed the continuation of the political dialogue between the two parties.
He said the discussions under the political dialogue would be a review of what has been happening during the past few years between the two parties.
“His Excellency (President Mnangagwa) himself pointed to some of those highlights, which we then discussed in a bit more detail such as the relaunch of the former political dialogue between EU and Zimbabwe,” he said.
“Sometimes we have disagreements or different interpretations about issues, but that is exactly why the political dialogue is so important. So, we have this forum where we discuss these and foster further mutual understanding.
“At times it has not always been as smooth when we have had some different interpretations, but indeed the importance of this is that the engagement continues and stays and the dialogue remains.”
Government’s re-engagement policy reached a milestone under President Mnangagwa’s leadership when the second session of the Zimbabwe and EU formal political dialogue was elevated to ministerial level last year.
Mr Olkkonen said the development cooperation between EU and Zimbabwe entered a new phase last year and there was great prospects of escalating trade ties.
“It is about development, trade, people-to-people relations and indeed those political issues,” he said. “We went into more detail about horticulture and the export opportunities that Zimbabwe and producers have in the European Union.
“It was a very comprehensive discussion about our various engagements. European Investment Bank whose operations in Zimbabwe with the private banks was also taken up.”
Mr Olkkonen said they discussed trade relations where the two parties had economic partnership agreement that provided for duty-free and tariff quota-free export opportunities for Zimbabwean produce when there is an opportunity in the European Union market.
He added that negotiations were underway so that the EU expanded on the scope of the agreements so that it would also include trading services in some other areas. Herald
