Zimbabwe will continue to engage American President Donald Trump’s administration to ensure removal of illegal sanctions which Washington imposed on the nation, hurting the economy, President Mnangagwa has said.

In an interview with foreign media on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said his Government was engaging the Americans to impress upon them the need for the removal of the economic embargo, which has suffocated the economy for almost two decades.

President Mnangagwa, who has since returned home, said: “There is nothing new about renewal of the old sanctions. They have been there for nearly two decades and so there is nothing new to us. It may be new to other people, but we are busy now engaging the Trump administration to understand that there is no quarrel between the people of Zimbabwe and the American people.’’

President Mnangagwa said it was necessary that the Americans understand the conditions under which the sanctions were imposed.
“It is necessary that they appreciate the conditions under which we are,” he said. “Of course, at the time those sanctions were imposed, this was during the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair who was in England, and President George Bush.

“At the time, President Bush had problems with Iraq and when he went to the United Nations seeking the authority and support of the United Nations Security Council he did not succeed, so there was a coalition of willing partners.

Britain was one of the willing partners under Mr Tony Blair and in exchange Mr Blair had a bilateral problem with Zimbabwe because we had taken our land back from the settlers and as a result of that, as Mr Blair was supporting Mr George Bush on Iraq, Mr Bush had to support Mr Blair on Zimbabwe by imposition of those sanctions.’’State media