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Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe’s bilateral agreements with Britain will not be affected by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) because international treaties governing the two countries are still bound by the agreement between Harare and the EU, Government has said.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Mr Shephard Gwenzi said the business community, whose agreements with Britain were created through the EU, need not to worry because the existing international agreements between the bloc and Harare will remain in force during the transitional period.
There has been uncertainty over what will happen to import or export agreements that were signed between businesses in Zimbabwe and Britain under the auspices of the EU after Britain announced that it was officially withdrawing from the bloc, in what has been commonly be referred to as Brexit.
The source of anxiety among the business community was that there were no new agreements signed between Zimbabwe and Britain to ensure the continuation of the bilateral agreements.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Gwenzi said there was no need for Zimbabwean business community to panic over the withdrawal of Britain from the EU because international agreements entered into remained valid.
“This serves to advise that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade received an official communication from the Delegation of the European Union in Harare, transmitting a Note on the agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the EU and European Atomic Energy Community,” reads the statement.
“As stipulated in the Note received from the Delegation of the European Union, the ministry recognised and accepts that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will remain part of EU international agreements during the transitional period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement, following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU on January 31, 2020. It is noted that the transitional implementation period will be in place until the end of 2020.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwean business community should be assured that business will continue as usual until the other processes have been finalised.”
Analysts and diplomats who spoke to The Herald have since noted that Britain’s exit from the EU should see the EU reverting to constructive multilateral engagement with Zimbabwe, considering that most countries were victims of the internationalisation of a bilateral dispute between Harare and London.
Relations between Zimbabwe and members of the EU soured at the turn of the millennium when Britain internationalised its bilateral dispute with Harare over the land reform programme.
The United States was also bought into the dispute and the countries have maintained illegal sanctions regimes on Zimbabwe since then, costing the country billions of US dollars in potential revenue and contracting the economy by over 40 percent.
Progressive countries like Belgium have been at odds with other EU members, calling for the removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe.
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