The European Union says it is ready to review ties with Zimbabwe and support the country’s re-engagement with international financial institutions once the new government presents clear plans for political and economic reform.
The move now means the EU could provide election monitors when the southern African country holds its elections later this year. That vote will be the country’s first without Robert Mugabe, who resigned in November following a military take-over.
The EU embassy in a statement said that the EU Council had on Monday agreed at a meeting in Brussels that the elections were an essential step towards mending relations.
“The EU will support the authorities in establishing as soon as possible a constructive re-engagement with international financial institutions based on a clear and time-bound economic and political reform programme,” the statement read in part.
“The EU stands ready to review the whole range of its policies towards Zimbabwe at any moment to take into account the progress achieved in the country.”
Relations between Zimbabwe and the EU deteriorated in the 2000s following a controversial land re-possession agenda by Mugabe’s administration, which drove white farmers from their farms, often brutally.
New President Emmerson Mnangagwa pledged to work with the international community to rescue Zimbabwe’s ailing economy, saying his country was now open for business.
He ordered the vacation of encroachers from the white farms, urging the white farmers to return as his government will ensure their security.
The 75-year-old is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos. President Mnangagwa is Zimbabwe’s first leader to attend the world summit which seeks to tackle poverty.
