Mnangagwa to attend AU summit

President Mnangagwa is expected to join his counterparts at the African Union's (AU) 35th ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this weekend.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Ambassador Frederick Shava, is already in Ethiopia attending the preceding meetings whose recommendations will be presented to the African leaders.

Minister Shava is today attending the Ministerial Session of the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council that began yesterday.

The summit is running under the theme "Building Resilience in Nutrition & Food Security on the African Continent: Strengthen Agriculture, Accelerate the Human Capital, Social Development".

"Minister Shava arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the African Union Summit where he was received by Ethiopian government officials and Zimbabwe's permanent representative to the AU, Ambassador Tavonga Mushavanhu at Bole International Airport," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in a statement.

He will attend the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council (Ministerial Session) to be held on February 2 and February 3, 2022. The Executive Council Ministerial Meeting precedes the 35th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly (Heads of State and Government Session) on February 5 and February 6, 2022.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Dr David Musabayana is in Ghana where he met his counterpart and discussed the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The Afcfta aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa's trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa's common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

"The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr David Musabayana, paid a courtesy call on Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister in charge of Trade for Ghana, at his Accra offices," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

"The meeting focused on exchanging notes and experiences on AFCFTA implementation. A timeline was agreed on setting up a new bilateral General Co-operation Agreement framework."

Zimbabwe is being configured towards the attainment of an upper-middle-income society by 2030 as a prerequisite of improving people's livelihoods.