Kenya-Zimbabwe relations got a boost when, on Wednesday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced seven new bilateral agreements signed between Kenya and Zimbabwe, following talks with visiting President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
President Mnangagwa arrived in Kenya on Tuesday for a three-day visit. He was accompanied by his wife, Auxillia Mnangagwa and received by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House in Nairobi on Wednesday.
The meeting came a day after Kenya-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation (JPCC) met to design a framework for the cooperation talks across various sectors that are aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.
The Kenya-Zimbabwe agreements were signed in the fields of political and diplomatic consultations, tourism and wildlife conservation, civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents investigations, promotion of women empowerment and community development, youth affairs, cooperatives and sport and recreation.
Besides the agreements, President Kenyatta also called for the lifting of crippling sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the international community, which he said had worsened the fate and fortunes of the Southern African country.
“We have continued to emphasise our strong determination to continue with our support of Zimbabwe against the illegal sanctions that have been imposed on that country and continue to cause undue problems, issues and trouble for the people of Zimbabwe and this we consider to be unfair,” Kenyatta said.
On his part, President Mnangagwa thanked Kenyatta for his country’s support against the sanctions and the continued warm diplomatic relations both sides enjoy.
“This meeting is a positive development which shows that our relations are going in the right direction. It is through the implementation of our MOUs which have been articulated by my brother that our economies will be transformed for higher standards of living for our people,” Mnangagwa said.