The Sunday Mail
Hebert Zharare recently in LUANDA, Angola
There is nothing that stops the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) from ensuring food security for its citizens given that it controls over 64 percent of the world’s arable land, President Mnangagwa has said.
He returned home yesterday after attending the 10th Summit of the OACPS in Angola, held under the theme “Three Oceans, Three Continents, One Common Destiny”.
Speaking to journalists on arrival at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport yesterday afternoon, President Mnangagwa said leaders of the 79-strong bloc resolved that there was need for the states to cooperate in science and innovation.
“So, we made resolutions regarding primarily the issue of Africa and the other states — the Pacific and Caribbean — that they must ensure food security. It’s a critical issue for all of us to be food secure. We control 64 percent of arable land on this planet, so there is no need for us failing to be food secure.
“Beyond that, there was the question of science and technology and innovation that we must cooperate. We must share the facilities that we have. We have an over US$1,3 billion market and that is a huge market to develop trade among ourselves to greater benefit of the member states. Broadly, that was the issue,” he said.
Under the leadership of President Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe embarked on an ambitious Vision 2030 drive, whose agenda is to develop the country into an upper middle-income economy by 2030 and anchored in different strategies, including food security.
The OACPS members have a combined population of 1,188 billion, a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2,24 trillion and a GDP per capita of US$1 800, according to the organisation’s official statistics for 2022. The size of the organisation’s population and the combined GDP make it a formidable force in global economics.
The President said the just-ended summit was critical in that it was coming after disruptions caused by Covid-19.
“There was this period of Covid-19 pandemic, which made it difficult for the organisation to meet. Yes, we met in Kenya, but it was a very low-key meeting. This time, almost every single state came, as well as Europe; EU was also represented,” he said.
President Mnangagwa also held high-level talks with Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland, who emerged from the meeting happy with the outcome of conversations held so far in connection with Zimbabwe’s readmission into the bloc.
Zimbabwe, under the leadership of former President Mugabe, withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003, but the New Dispensation has embarked on an engagement and re-engagement drive, as the country moves to regain its rightful position among the nations.
President Mnangagwa said: “I met the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness (Patricia) Scotland, and she was briefing me on the visit of her team to Zimbabwe. She was pleased, very positive, about the report submitted to her by the team that visited here. She was looking forward to a possibility of readmission of Zimbabwe to the Commonwealth in the near future.”
Speaking after meeting President Mnangagwa in Luanda, Baroness Scotland said: “We had a very jovial meeting with the President and my team has visited Zimbabwe to speak to all sectors, the Government and the civil society so that we have a good outline on what needs to be done and it was a good meeting. We are in a process and the process is going on very well and we will allow it to continue. The President has expressed total commitment to that which is necessary in order for Zimbabwe to come back to the Commonwealth and so we are all going to work very hard.”
The President had a packed itinerary in Luanda, as he had many engagements with representatives of various organisations.
“And also then, of course, on the sidelines we discussed with (Dr Akinwumi) Adesina’s team. We appointed Adesina — the President of AfDB (African Development Bank) — as our champion of rescheduling our debt with the Paris Club. He is being assisted by former President (Joachim) Chissano. We drew up a framework on such discussions, on how the matter is going to continue,” said President Mnangagwa:
He chronicled the cordial relations that exist between Zimbabwe and oil- rich Equatorial Guinea.
“As Zimbabwe, we were invited to the inauguration of the President of Equatorial Guinea (Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo). They had their elections in November and he had 94,6 percent (of the votes cast and) the other 14 parties shared the remaining votes.
“There were 22 states that were invited to the inauguration and out of the 22, there was only one English- speaking country — Zimbabwe, which means that President (Mbasogo) has so much regard for Zimbabwe.
“The inauguration process went on very well. Theirs is a seven-year term and this is his last term. Then, after Malabo, we proceeded to Angola for the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States Summit. The three continents came together to see how they can cooperate, unite so that their voices can be heard,” he said.
