Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor
Zimbabwe and Algeria have agreed to work together to deepen cooperation between the two countries in areas such as energy.
They both roundly condemned the wanton killing of Palestinians by Israeli security forces during their ongoing operations against Hamas in Gaza Strip.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava met with his Algerian counterpart, Minister Ahmed Attaf, in Algiers yesterday ahead of the Nordic-Africa foreign ministers’ meeting taking place in Algiers.
In a statement, Ambassador Shava said during the meeting, they exchanged notes on ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between Harare and Algiers, and also deliberated on “global developments of concern to both Zimbabwe and Algeria”.
“On the bilateral arena, I thanked Algeria for the scholarships it has long provided to Zimbabweans and in particular, its recent decision to increase scholarships on offer this year to 220, up from 100,” said Ambassador Shava.
“We agreed to work together to deepen cooperation between our two countries in areas such as energy and expressed hope that existing collaboration between our two parliaments would be enhanced.
“We agreed on the need to finalise preparations for the next session of the Zimbabwe-Algeria Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation in order to give impetus to all our areas of collaboration.”
Ambassador Shava said on “issues of concern on the multilateral arena”, they jointly expressed “dismay at the current situation obtaining in Gaza where violence continues to claim innocent lives”.
“From our perspective as Zimbabwe, the current situation is a symptom of the unresolved question of Palestine,” he said.
“We therefore reiterated our unequivocal support for the two-State solution and the resumption of a peace process that will deliver a just solution for the Palestinian people and see the fulfilment of their long-standing aspirations for independence and self-determination.”
The concerns follow the brutal killing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli security forces claiming they are avenging the killing of 1 300 people allegedly by Hamas, a militant group said to be operating from Gaza.
Since its blitzkrieg in Gaza, Israeli security forces have killed nearly 3 000 Palestinians in the last eight days alone. Buildings have been extensively damaged and over 10 000 Palestinians wounded.
Israeli has now ordered about 1,1 million people in Northern Gaza to move out to pave way for a large-scale operation designed to eliminate Hamas.
But as some people leave, Israeli bombs have hit convoys, killing people.
While officiating at the closing ceremony of the 4th Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum last Friday, Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s operation in Gaza. He said Israel should restore electricity and water for the 2,3 million people of Gaza that it has cut off.
Ambassador Shava said Zimbabwe and Algeria also expressed their “steadfast solidarity with the cause of the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and their long-standing quest for independence and self-determination”.
“Finally, we congratulated Algeria for being elected to the United Nations Security Council for the period covering 2024-2025 and expressed our confidence in their ability to add their voice to just causes and represent the interests of African countries,” he said.
“We took this opportunity to request for support for Zimbabwe’s candidature to the same body for the period covering 2027-2028. We were assured of Algeria’s full support.”
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