Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube says Zimbabwe has made strides in re-joining the Commonwealth.
This comes after President Emmerson Mnangagwa met the organization’s secretary-general, Ambassador Patricia Scotland, on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to work on modalities for readmission.
Tweeted Ncube, “On the sidelines of #UNGA in New York, His Excellence @edmnangagwa and I caught up with Hon Patricia Scotland QC, Commonwealth Secretary-General. #Zimbabwe has made tremendous progress towards re-joining the Commonwealth.”
The Mnangagwa administration has been making frantic efforts to join the former British colonies’ bloc in an effort to enhance foreign trade after years of Zim’s isolation from the international world.
Meanwhile, outgoing British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ms. Catriona Laing told reporters in Zimbabwe yesterday that the process to rejoining the Commonwealth will not be smooth and not immediate as there are due processes to be followed.
“That process, as I understand it, has started but it wouldn’t formally conclude until the next Commonwealth Summit, which will be in Malaysia in 2020.
“We are very supportive of Zimbabwe rejoining the Commonwealth. There is a process to follow. It’s not automatic. It involves ensuring that the Harare Declaration, which was signed here in the early 1990s is enacted and that means issues like free and fair elections, an independent Judiciary and respect for the rule of law that is very helpful for Zimbabwe to have that confidence because it will be able to demonstrate to the world that it is transparently meeting that criteria.”
Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth at the height of a diplomatic tiff between Harare and London in December 2003.
