Zimbabwe has received support from all the 21 African members of the Commonwealth for its return to the 54-nation grouping, according to Zimbabwe’s information minister Monica Mutsvangwa.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa met Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland during his recent London visit for the coronation of King Charles III.
Addressing a post-Cabinet media briefing Tuesday, Mutsvangwa said, “Baroness Scotland indicated that 21 African members of the Commonwealth were supportive of Zimbabwe’s re-admittance into the grouping.”
Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003 after being suspended for breaching the Harare Declaration. Since then, the Commonwealth has played a major part in trying to end the political impasse and return Zimbabwe to a state of normality.
After taking over from Mugabe following the 2017 coup, Mnangagwa sought re-admission to the group as part of a so-called ‘engagement and re-engagement policy with Western countries.
The process has however dragged on with little apparent progress since Zimbabwe submitted its reapplication bid in 2018.
Last year, a Commonwealth delegation led by the organization’s Assistant Secretary-General, Professor Luis Franceschi, visited Zimbabwe and acknowledged that Harare had made progress in laying the groundwork for its return.
