Africa News
Highest-level EU mission in years to visit Zimbabwe
Sep 10, 2009, 10:44 GMT
Stockholm - The first high-level delegation from the European Union in seven years is to visit Zimbabwe this weekend for talks with President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the Swedish EU presidency said Thursday.
The EU troika is to comprise Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Swedish International Development Cooperation Minister Gunilla Carlsson and a representative from Spain, which on January 1 will take over the rotating EU presidency from Sweden.
The EU delegation is to be the highest caliber one since 2002, when the bloc introduced sanctions, including a travel ban and a freeze on assets, against Mugabe and his closest aides.
The Zimbabwe visit was described as a follow-up to a June meeting held in Brussels with Tsvangirai when the EU decided to resume its dialogue with Harare.
The main focus was the faltering power-sharing agreement signed a year ago between Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mugabe's Zanu-PF.
Carlsson was due to attend an EU summit with South Africa near Cape Town prior to the Zimbabwe visit.
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