Joint press statement: second
formal political dialogue meeting
between EU and Zimbabwe
The second Zimbabwe-European Union Political Dialogue Meeting took
place in Harare on 21 November 2019.
The second Zimbabwe-European Union Political Dialogue Meeting took place in
Harare on 21 November 2019.
The meeting provided for the continuation of a wide-ranging engagement on
priorities, shared objectives and areas for collaboration including: economic
developments, trade and investment; human rights, democratisation, rule of law and
good governance; development cooperation; humanitarian impact and climate
change as well as global and regional matters.
The Zimbabwean side briefed on progress in the Government’s political, economic,
electoral and legislative reform agenda and highlighted the financial challenges
faced in implementing these reforms. Further, the Zimbabwean side applauded the
efforts by the Zimbabwean Anti-Corruption Commission in fighting corruption.
The EU noted the existing economic and political reform challenges and expressed
its wish to support Zimbabwe's political and economic reform agenda, including the
fight against corruption. The two sides agreed on the importance of reformsand their
benefit to the Zimbabwean people.
The
two
sides acknowledged
the commitment to
national dialogue. The
Zimbabwean side underlined the call by H.E. the President for all political parties to
join the Political Actors Dialogue as unity of purpose among Zimbabweans and
political parties was central to the development of the country. The EU expressed
hope for a profound and inclusive national dialogue to develop a mutual vision for
Zimbabwe’s path into the future.
Today’s meeting welcomed the recent developments between the EU and
Zimbabwe, such as the additional USD 11 million in humanitarian aid to combat food
insecurity announced in August and the additional USD 60 million of development
aid to Zimbabwe in close partnership with the UN-system and NGOs, to support the
health sector and boost resilience in agriculture,announced in October.
The meeting welcomed the agreement by the EU and the fiveEastern and Southern
African States to launch negotiations to deepen the scope of the interim Economic