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(HERALD) New British envoy hails inclusive Govt

New British envoy hails inclusive Govt
Herald Reporter

INCOMING British ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Mark Canning has hailed the formation of the inclusive Government saying he was committed to supporting the arrangement.

After presenting his credentials — along with new ambassadors from Qatar, Tunisia and Trinidad and Tobago — to President Mugabe at State House in Harare yesterday morning, Mr Canning told the media that he was "delighted to be in the country at such an important time".

He becomes the first senior British official to publicly pledge support for the inclusive Government at a time the West has expressed scepticism and stands accused of seeking to sabotage the arrangement by maintaining the illegal economic sanctions on Zimbabwe.

In his prepared speech to journalists, Mr Canning said: "These are still early days. The inclusive Government is only in its sixth month but it has registered some significant gains, particularly in terms of economic stabilisation. There is much work to be done but a start has been made," he said.

There has been cautious optimism that tentative grounds for rapprochement exist following a "frank" meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and former British Junior Foreign Minister Mark Malloch-Brown on the sidelines of South African President Jacob Zuma’s inauguration in Tshwane in May.

Insiders said President Mugabe pointed out to Mr Canning that the reason why relations between the two countries had remained tense was because of the United Kingdom’s retrogressive attitude vis-à-vis the land reform programme and Zimbabwe’s domestic politics.

President Mugabe also explained the country’s colonial history and how Zimbabweans waged a protracted war against British-backed Rhodesians for the right to reclaim their land and natural resources.

Mr Canning refused to field questions from journalists after the more than one-hour meeting with the President. He takes over from Dr Andrew Pocock, who completed his mission last month.

Mr Pocock had been in Zimbabwe since February 2006 and, although he kept a low profile, relations between Harare and London remained frosty, with his country constantly dabbling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs.

Mr Canning, a one-time security co-ordinator, was based in Rangoon, Myanmar, on his last diplomatic posting. The envoys from Qatar, Tunisia and Trinidad and Tobago presented their credentials to President Mugabe soon after Mr Canning.

Qatar’s Dr Bashir Issa Hassan Mohammed Al Shirawi, who will be based in South Africa, said he will work to strengthen diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"I will be looking at strengthening existing relations while exploring other areas of co-operation in areas such as transport and fuel, among others," he said.

The new Tunisian Ambassador, Professor Ahmed Mahjoub, hailed relations between the two countries.

"Our countries enjoy excellent relations and we would want the strong ties to continue so that we build and enhance this co-operation," he said.

Professor Mahjoub boasts a 30-year career in academia, business leadership and governance and was once a minister for Informatics and Internet in his home country.

He said his country would like to work on enhancing co-operation with Zimbabwe in such areas as health, agriculture, information and communication technologies and other fields.

Dr Winston Mahabir of Trinidad and Tobago said the prospects for greater co-operation between Zimbabwe and his countries were "excellent".

He said he would also be representing Trinidad and Tobago’s sister states, Barbados and Guyana, which share similar foreign policies.

"I would want to enhance South-South co-operation between our countries. I will be working in areas of co-operation such as energy, health, education and culture.

"We will also like to extend scholarships for university education for Zimbabweans who will come back and work for their country," he said.

Dr Mahabir will also be based in Pretoria, South Africa.

Meanwhile, the United States Ambassador-designate to Zimbabwe, Mr Charles Ray, was quoted by Internet news sites as saying he would continue with America’s policies on Zimbabwe if his appointment was confirmed.

Mr Ray told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during nomination hearings for proposed envoys to African countries on Tuesday that he would use his diplomatic experience in China to understand Sino-Zimbabwe relations and "how that can complement what we are doing".

Mr Ray added: "I will continue our efforts to assist the people of Zimbabwe in their pursuit of a representative, democratically elected government that respects human rights, adheres to the rule of law and undertakes the economic reforms necessary to bring prosperity back to Zimbabwe."

The US has often hidden behind words like "human rights", "rule of law" and "democracy" to mask Washington’s regime change agenda in Zimbabwe.

If appointed, Mr Ray will replace Mr James McGee, whose tour of duty coincided with a worsening in relations between the two countries as he continuously meddled in Zimbabwe’s affairs and vowed that he would see to it that the US’ illegal economic remained in place.

Labels: AMBASSADOR, CHARLES RAY, MARK CANNING, NEOCOLONIALISM, TRINIDAD AND TOBEBO, UK

posted by MrK @ 3:21 PM