Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Desk Editor
TWO new ambassadors, representing Greece and Cuba, have presented their credentials to President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House in Harare.
Her Excellency Anna Farrou, Greece’s new Ambassador to Zimbabwe, was the first to present her credentials to President Mnangagwa on Thursday.
Following the ceremony, Ambassador Farrou addressed the press, stating that her country is eager to strengthen its ties with Zimbabwe, with a particular focus on the tourism, agriculture, and education sectors. She emphasised Greece’s commitment to fostering collaboration in these key areas, which she believes hold great potential for mutual benefit.
“There are many sectors where we could explore opportunities at political and economic levels,” she said.
“One of my priorities will be the field of tourism. Greece, as you know, is a touristic country, our heavy industry relies on tourism so there is a lot of expertise there and we are happy to share it with our friends and partners. To show you what I mean about tourism in Greece, last year, 35 million people visited Greece.
“That is a lot of people and Greece is a small, medium country, so you understand how important hospitality and tourism is for us and what kind of expertise my country has in this sector. Another area in which we will explore the possibility of enhancing our relationship is agriculture. Apart from that, we believe a lot in people-to-people contacts. So this is something which is also high in my agenda and this means that we will try to see how we can increase the number of scholarships that we provide to Zimbabwean students.”
She added that they discussed Zimbabwe-Greece support at the United Nations Security Council and the status of peace and security within the region.
“Apart from the bilateral cooperation that we discussed with the President, I also took the opportunity to thank him warmly and Zimbabwe, as well as the political leadership, for supporting Greece in our election as a non-permanent member in the Security Council for the period of 2025-2026.
“I reiterated our commitment to support Zimbabwe in his effort to be elected in the Security Council. I also commended the tireless efforts by the President regarding securing peace and security in the region, also through his leadership in SADC.”
Her Excellency Susellys Perez Meza also presented her credentials to President Emmerson Mnangagwa as Cuba’s new representative to Zimbabwe.
With deep historical ties, Ambassador Meza said as Zimbabwe and Cuba celebrate 45 years of diplomatic ties, engagements will continue in areas of education, agriculture, science and technology.
“We share a lot of values, we are very close and we also share some things unfortunate like the sanctions and we will continue fighting against that. This year, we have the 45th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations and we think we can cooperate more toward biotech industry, science and technology and also deepening the ties we already have in health and education,” she said.
Under its engagement and re-engagement drive, the government has seen the growth of bilateral and multilateral ties with countries and global groupings.
