Tsvangirai’s visit to Spain

October 26, 2009 by Politico ·
Filed under: Politics

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, today received Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe, at the Viana Palace. During this bilateral encounter, which was followed by a working lunch, matters of common interest in politics, economics, and cultural issues were addressed, with the purpose of re-launching relations between Spain and this important Southern African country.

Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos expressed Spain’s decisive support for the process of political stabilization that the Government of National Unity of Zimbabwe is undertaking, giving special mention to the political transition that Prime Minister Tsvangirai himself is leading, who, to quote the Minister, “represents a new Zimbabwe and the hopes of the people of this African country”.

In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation highlighted that the new political situation in Zimbabwe today, with an inclusive Government and the political importance in the region and internationally, represents “a great opportunity to re-launch relations between Spain and this country”, relations that do not have the same status as those between Spain and other countries in the region.

After discussing bilateral political relations, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos addressed the main issues with regards to economy and cooperation between the two states. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation acknowledged the extraordinary personal effort that Mr. Tsvangirai and his party, MDC-T, have made to improve the macro economic environment of the country and the establishment of greater financial discipline. He also encouraged Prime Minister Tsvangirai to continue in the same vein, as these measures present an incentive for national and international investors and will also ultimately benefit and improve the quality of life of the population as a whole. With this in mind, both considered the possibilities of developing economic relations between Zimbabwe and Spain in special sectors such as infrastructure, energy and tourism.

Concerning Spanish cooperation in the country, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation reiterated Spain’s commitment to the alleviation of the difficult humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, through the Spanish Agency of Cooperation for Development (AECID). Zimbabwe ranks 151 in the Index of Human Development, out of a total of 177 countries.

With respect to relations between the African Country and the European Union, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation took the opportunity to explain the priorities that Spain has for its presidency of the Union during the first semester of 2010, and celebrated the start of Political Dialogue between the EU and Zimbabwe last June. Of the latter, he expressed his wish that the process promoted by the visit of the European Troika to Zimbabwe last September, should continue to deliver fruitful results. The importance of executing, in full, the Global Peace Agreement through dialogue between all parties, was also emphasized. During its presidency, Spain will continue to promote dialogue between the European Union and Zimbabwe.

Finally, both proceeded to review the main questions of common interest in regional and the international issues which require mutual support, such as climate change and the fight against poverty.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai visited Spain to receive the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Foundation Cristobal Gabarrón on October 9th 2009. During his visit, the Prime Minister also met with the President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and the Secretary of Tourism, Joan Mesquida.

Press Release
October 8th 2009

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