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Kagame Has Not Humiliated Mnangagwa | LATEST
20 March 2018
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Ray Nkosi | Contrary to social media reports that Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been humiliated in Kigali, sources have told ZimEye.com President Paul Kagame honoured the Zimbabwean leader.

This follows a report claiming that, “Mnangagwa will sit in the gallery not with other head of states at AU Summit in Rwanda today. The AU says Mnangagwa cannot sit with elected heads of state since he is a product of a coup. However they agreed that he attends the summit as an observer.”

Sources in Kigali told ZimEye.com, ” That’s fake news. Zimbabwe President was all in attendences in this AU meeting. He’s even from appearing on a panel with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.”

Also on the panel with Mnangagwa this morning was former African Development Bank president Donald Kaberuka.

The sources went further to say, ” Even Kagame honoured him before delivering a speech. If that arrangement was there, Kagame could have ignored his presence.”

Mnangagwa was received at the airport by Rwanda’s Minister of Justice Mr Johnston Busingye and Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Addis Ababa Mr Albert Chimbindi.

 Mnangagwa joins other African Heads of State and Government for the launching of the Continental Free Trade Area on Wednesday.

The launch will be preceded by a business forum where the AU leadership will engage in dialogue with businesspeople from around the continent.

They will share information on joint ventures on various inventives and policies supporting intra-Africa trade.

The Continental Free Trade Area is an African market of over US$1.2 billion people with a gross domestic product of US$2.5 trillion.

The Continental Free Trade Area has the potential to boost intra-African trade by 53 percent by eliminating import duties and non-tariff barriers.

It is one of the flagship projects of the first 10-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063 and aims to deepen the integration process.

It is being driven forward along with other key related initiatives such as the single African air transport market and the protocol on free movement of persons and the African passport.

The leaders of Africa’s 55 countries will are expected to attend the extraordinary summit that will make Africa the largest free trade area created since the formation of the World Trade Organisation.