Tinaye Agere
Wallace Ruzvidzo in PARIS, France
ZIMBABWE’s participation at international forums being held here has opened new frontiers and showed that the country is a force to reckon with on the global stage, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.
The Vice President arrived here on Wednesday morning and immediately got down to business.
He had a series of engagements, including attending a reception hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the Sport for Sustainable Development Summit.
In an interview yesterday, after attending the 2024 Olympic Games official opening ceremony held on Friday night, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe’s presence and subsequent engagements with world leaders had proved successful.
The VP had interactions with President Macron, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, European Council president Charles Michel and World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, among others, which were a boost to the country’s engagement and re-engagement efforts.
“Our presence and participation here have shown that Zimbabwe is a force to reckon with in the global community. We met with presidents and businesspeople, and we had discussions with France’s president on furthering our engagements and collaborations.
“We spoke to a lot of world leaders who are here in France. We spoke with the World Health Organisation director-general and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, who expressed his desire for constructive dialogue,” he said.
The United Nations head, said VP Chiwenga, also conveyed greetings to President Mnangagwa, with President Macron expressing the need for Harare and Paris to upscale collaboration.
“We also spoke to the head of the United Nations, who relayed greetings to President Mnangagwa, but France’s President emphasised the need to increase collaboration between the two countries,” he said.
“I have met with Heads of State and heads of international organisations, sharing ideas, but more importantly, it is the business community . . . they will be coming home. That is what is very critical.”
VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe would fully back Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Minister Kirsty Coventry, who is vying for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency. The IOC will hold elections for the post at its 143rd session to be held in Athens, Greece, next year. Turning to his attendance of the Games’ official opening, the Vice President said he had been impressed.
“I have watched, but this is my first time to be physically at the official opening of the Olympics and from what I have seen, it was well-organised,” he said.
Zimbabwe has seven athletes who will compete in athletics, rowing and swimming at the Games. Sprinters Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu qualified for the 200m dash, while Isaac Mpofu and Rutendo Nyahora will take part in the marathon.
Paige van der Westhuizen and Denilson Cyprianos will represent the country in swimming, with Stephen Cox competing in rowing.
VP Chiwenga described the official opening ceremony held on the Seine River, which saw athletes entering aboard a boat for the floating parade, as electrifying.
He also rallied Team Zimbabwe and commended them for qualifying.
“I was asking one of our athletes and I said, you are doing law, but what makes you now go for swimming? What makes you do psychology? What makes you do operations? What makes you do engineering?
“So, these are not only sportsmen; they are also doing their various degrees.
“So, once you are a sportsperson, you become self-disciplined. And in whatever you do, you succeed,” he said.
Sport’s unifying aspect, he added, was something that should never be underestimated. More than 10 500 athletes from 206 countries are participating at the Games, which end on August 11.
Online Reporter