Story by Josephine Mugiyo, Diplomatic Correspondent
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has met with his counterpart, the Republic of Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev.
As he spoke about his meeting with President Aliyev, the SADC chairperson said it is key for African countries to state their position during the COP29 conference.
“In the first place, I met my counterpart the President and we shared our views, as a matter of fact, we share our independence as sovereign states. We think that it’s critically important that we state our positions as developing countries and be respected in the positions that we take because they reflect our own conditions and political situations,” said President Mnangagwa.
Among the areas of focus this year will be climate financing as African countries continue to endure the adverse effects of global warming which have resulted in severe drought, with vulnerable communities being hard hit by food insecurity.
Meanwhile, Guinea Bissau President, Umaro Embalo also paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa.
President Embalo described President Mnangagwa as a hero of the liberation struggle and expressed his interests in improving ties between Harare and Bissau.
“He is our leader, he is our hero of the liberation struggle. I’m coming for a state visit to Zimbabwe soon to open communication between our two countries. He trained with our leader in Nanjing,” President Embalo said.
The next few days will see President Mnangagwa attending the COP29 conference as well as taking part in other business engagements on the sidelines of the conference.
