ZIMBABWE maintains a non-adversarial foreign policy geared to maintaining friendly relations with all nations and welcomes the European Union’s latest decision to remove all remaining sanctions related to travel bans and asset freezes, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira has said.
Delivering a lecture at the Zimbabwe Defence College in Harare yesterday, Prof Murwira said the development reflects Zimbabwe’s longstanding foreign policy posture of constructive engagement and openness to cooperation with international partners.Valentine’s Day flowers
“Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none. We do not start trouble with any country. We welcome any country that improves relations with ourselves because that’s our posture. Our posture in Zimbabwe is non-adversarial; that is our posture; we are non-judgemental,” he said.
The EU announced on Tuesday, following its annual review of restrictive measures on Zimbabwe, that it would lift sanctions relating to travel bans and asset freezes while extending the existing arms embargo for another year until February 20 next year.
The EU has been scaling back on financial and economic sanctions in recent years with the latest measure effectively ending the last of these; the remaining arms embargo is not considered an impediment to improved ties.
Zimbabwe, Prof Murwira said, has consistently maintained that unilateral coercive measures not authorised by the United Nations are inconsistent with international law. “So any country that imposes coercive measures outside the United Nations framework is acting outside established international legal processes,” he said.
The removal of sanctions represents a further easing of Brussels’ embargo on Harare that have gradually been scaled back over the years, leaving the arms embargo as the only remaining punitive measure.
Observers say the decision signals the efficacy of the continued diplomatic re-engagement between Zimbabwe and the EU and may help strengthen cooperation in trade and investment.
In a statement, the EU said it remains constructively engaged with Zimbabwe and anticipates stronger bilateral ties. “The EU remains constructively engaged with Zimbabwe and looks forward to deepening bilateral relations across a broad range of areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment,” the bloc said.
Relations between Zimbabwe and the EU have improved significantly in recent years, particularly through structured diplomatic engagement and cooperation under Zimbabwe’s debt and arrears clearance programme.
The EU has been part of broader international efforts supporting Zimbabwe’s economic reform and re-engagement agenda, including participation in dialogue platforms aimed at resolving external debt and normalising relations with international financial institutions and creditors.
These engagements have helped rebuild diplomatic channels that were strained following the imposition of sanctions in 2002.
The EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in February 2002, including an arms embargo, following political tensions between Zimbabwe and Western countries during the Fast Track Land Reform Programme.
The bloc’s sanctions framework was revised in 2011 and has been gradually adjusted over time, with most measures removed through successive reviews.
The EU said its latest decision reflects continued assessment of developments in Zimbabwe. – Herald
