The EU said on Saturday it wanted Zimbabwe’s unity government to succeed, but sought further reforms from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe during a first meeting with him in seven years.
“We want this government of national unity to be a success,” EU aid commissioner Karel de Gucht told reporters after the talks.
“I think we should acknowledge that there is progress being made here, but there are still several problems outstanding and we discussed those with the president in a very open atmosphere,” he said.
An EU delegation held separate talks with Mugabe and Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who formed a unity government in February in a bid to curb political violence and halt the nation’s economic freefall.
After lashing out at “bloody whites” for meddling in his country’s affairs on Friday, a jovial Mugabe welcomed the delegation with “open arms.”
“It [the meeting] went well. They were asking questions about the GPA and they thought it is not working, yet everything we were asked to do under the GPA we have done and timeously even,” said Mugabe, referring to the power sharing deal or Global Political Agreement. “We established good rapport, no animosity, it was quite a friendly meeting.”
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