Source: Zim takes UNSC bid to the Caribbean – herald
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
FOREIGN Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira, serving as President Mnangagwa’s Special Envoy, is conducting high-level diplomatic engagements across the Caribbean to solicit support for Zimbabwe’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
He began his Caribbean mission in St Lucia on Monday, where he held meetings with the country’s Minister of External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs, Alva Baptiste, who then conveyed St Lucia’s support for Zimbabwe’s bid.
“I think Zimbabwe has every right to seek a vote from us. If we say we are family, you must start in the family. You know, in Creole, we have something that means the arm of the family can bend, but it will never break.
“So no matter how much we are stretched, that arm of friendship and love and solidarity will never break and therefore, that arm will be there to give the necessary support to Zimbabwe,” he said.
The St Lucia minister called Prof Murwira’s visit long overdue, emphasising that Africa and the Caribbean are linked by historical ties that ought to be reflected in closer collaboration.
“Well, first of all, I want to say that the only downside is that this meeting took too long.
“It should have happened decades ago, it is just a brother from the continent coming to St Lucia and re-establishing contact,” he said.
Minister Baptiste then said globalisation had provided a platform for the two countries to upscale their relations.
“I think now technology has allowed us to be closer together . . . not come here by boat anymore, but aeroplanes are in the sky.
“And the sky is no longer the limit like we used to say when we travelled by boat, in fact, the sky is just the beginning. So there are plenty of opportunities for us to explore, especially in this very turbulent global environment,” he said.
Prof Murwira’s trip through the Caribbean included a stop in Jamaica yesterday, where he delivered President Mnangagwa’s greetings and thanked the Jamaican people for their warm welcome.
He characterised the journey as not only an official diplomatic engagement but also a profoundly personal one.
Minister Murwira highlighted the long-standing and symbolic ties between the two countries, evoking the memorable occasion when Bob Marley attended Zimbabwe’s independence celebrations in 1980.
“The symbolic importance of Marley and the song ‘Zimbabwe’ binds our nations,” said Prof Murwira.
Both parties highlighted how shared historical experiences, particularly struggles against colonialism, continue to inform their cooperation in global forums such as the United Nations and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.
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