African leader declares Russia a ‘constant ally’

Zimbabwe supports Moscow’s vision of multipolar world order, President Emmerson Mnangagwa says

After suffering from Western sanctions for more than two decades, Zimbabwe views Russia as a “a constant global ally”, and welcomes the emergence of a multipolar world, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in St. Petersburg on Friday.

“It is regrettable and unacceptable that the collective West continues to seek hegemony,” Mnangagwa said during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). “There is a general consensus” He continued, “that unipolarity has no place in modern world politics and international economic relations.”

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2003, in response to allegations of corruption and human rights abuses made by the late President Robert Mugabe. Although these restrictions were lifted in March, new sanctions were applied to Mnangagwa and several of his senior officials a month later, with the United States citing similar human rights and corruption concerns.

Mnangagwa denounced these measures as “defamatory,” arguing Friday that they have “We have held back our economic development and growth over the past 24 years.”

Last year, Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga claimed that sanctions had cost the country’s economy more than $150 billion since their introduction. A 2022 report by the Institute for Security Studies in Africa found that these economic sanctions were driving investors away from Zimbabwe by making it a “high risk” country.

“The old global geopolitical order, dominated by a privileged few, resulting in the perpetual marginalization of most of us in the Global South, is no longer acceptable,” Mnangagwa said in St. Petersburg. He said he welcomed investments from BRICS countries and encouraged Russian investors to take advantage of Zimbabwe’s advantage. “a skilled and educated workforce, abundant resources and manufacturing expertise” to help make the country a “upper middle income” nation by 2030.

“Zimbabwe considers the Russian Federation a constant global ally,” he declared, adding that “Advancing and embracing multipolarity offers great potential for us in Africa to achieve inclusive and balanced development, modernization and industrialization.”

During his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Mnangagwa thanked Russia for its food, military and security assistance. Moscow donated 25,000 tonnes of wheat and 23,000 tonnes of fertilizer to Zimbabwe earlier this year, after a severe drought put half the country’s population at risk of famine, according to Harare.

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Zimbabwe has expressed interest in joining the BRICS group of emerging economies, but has yet to submit official documents. The group, whose main members, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, represent more than 40% of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the world’s GDP, was presented by Putin as a key pillar of the multipolar world order. .

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