Southern Africa: Visits Abroad
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to visit (a) Zimbabwe and (b) the Southern African Development Community region.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The Foreign Secretary looks forward to visiting the South African Development Community (SADC) region moving forward and engaging with all member countries, including Zimbabwe, on a range of bilateral issues. The Minister for Africa has already visited both Angola and DRC within the first month of his role, highlighting the importance of the SADC region to the UK. I have visited South Sudan & Ethiopia, where I also met with the African Union Commissioner Bankole to discuss our shared priorities and express the UK's desire for a renewed, genuine partnership with the AU.
Since the Foreign Secretary's appointment, he has written to his Zimbabwean counterpart to reaffirm his commitment to working with the country in order to boost trade and investment, enhance strong people to people links and to tackle the climate crisis. As President Mnangagwa begins his role as Chairperson of SADC, the UK will continue to engage with Zimbabwe on areas of mutual importance, both through Ministers and the Embassy in Harare.
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