(TALKZIMBABWE) Mugabe breaks annual leave for Nguema

Mugabe breaks annual leave for Nguema
Posted by By Our reporter at 10 January, at 21 : 43 PM

PRESIDENT Mugabe has broken his annual leave to meet with the visiting Equatorial Guinea president. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday morning and was met at the Harare International Airport by Acting President John Nkomo, Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Nicholas Goche and several Government officials.

President Nguema is visiting as the current African Union chairman and in his capacity as EG president. President Mugabe broke his annual leave – which ends at the end of January – to meet with his counterpart.

“It is my duty, as the AU chairman to meet continental leaders to discuss ways to carry Africa forward,” said President Nguema to journalists after his meeting with President Mugabe.

The two presidents met at the State House in a closed session for six hours and discussed AU and bilateral issues.

President Nguema said Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea continue to enjoying good bilateral relations.

“Our countries enjoy strong links, which are deeply rooted much more after Zimbabwe assisted in foiling an attempted coup in our country in 2004 and that brought us closer,” he said.

“We would like to engage in more projects that would reinforce our relations.”

Zimbabwean security forces arrested British mercenary Simon Mann and 69 others at the Harare International Airport in 2004 when they landed to pick up weapons while on their way to overthrow President Nguema’s government.

President Nguema scoffed at a question by journalists on whether or not Zimbabwe will be on the agenda of the forthcoming AU summit set for the end of this month.

“The agenda for the AU summit has been set as per the provisions of the Africa Union Commission and it would focus on how African leaders would strengthen co-operation between their countries,” he said.

President Nguema last visited Zimbabwe in August 2007 to officially open the Harare Agricultural Show.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen contacts at all levels while opening diplomatic missions in their countries to enhance bilateral co-opera-tion.