Mugabe returns

President Robert Mugabe returned home Thursday evening after attending the fourth Africa Arab Summit where he called on the two regions to form partnerships in key sectors to create an impact on economic global trends and to strengthen their economies.

The President was accompanied by the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe, Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and Presidential spokesman George Charamba.

The Africa Arab Summit which has its foundation in attempts to attain UN sustainable development goal way back had its first summit in Cairo Egypt in 2007 with the second in Sirte, Libya under Muammar Gaddafi in 2010 while the third was held in Kuwait in 2013 where the African countries got a US$3 billion loan for socio-economic development.

During the just ended fourth Afro Arab Summit, the heads of state and government tasked ministers of finance and foreign affairs to come up with a new development plan and means of financing the projects.

In his address at the summit President Mugabe who was the only African leader to address the gathering said Afro Arab cooperation should be utilised as an instrument to enhance trade and investment and balance North-South cooperation where currently the South has continuously been exporting primary products and raw materials to the North.

Mugabe spoke about Agenda 2063 and ZIMASSET where Africa as a whole and the continent are seeking to value add and beneficiate their agricultural and mineral resources to uplift lives of the ordinary people.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi briefed Zimbabwean journalists that the Summit had gone on well despite attempts by Morocco to try and put spanners by demanding that the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic which Morocco colonised after its liberation from Spain be excluded from the conference table.

But Africa which has continued to support the North African country stuck to its position that the Saharawi should have recognition.

The Africa Arab Summit brought together heads of state and government from Africa and the Arab league.

The President was received by the two Vice Presidents, Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Miriam Chikukwa, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Dr Joram Gumbo, deputy ministers Edgar Mbwembwe, Anastasia Ndlovu, Mike Bimha and service chiefs as well deputy chief secretary to the President and Cabinet Retired Colonel Christian Katsande.