President Thabo Mbeki has left for Harare, Zimbabwe, to witness the signing of a power-sharing agreement for the country, the department of foreign affairs said on Monday morning.
“President Thabo Mbeki, [foreign affairs minister] Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, [Provincial and Local Government Minister] Sydney Mufamadi and [deputy foreign affairs minister] Aziz Pahad have taken off for Harare,” said department spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa.
The group departed just after 7am. A power sharing deal between Zimbabwe’s main political rivals, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the ruling Zanu-PF will be officially signed by President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
After the ceremony, Mbeki will leave for Sudan where he will meet President Omar El Bashir and be briefed on peace and security issues in the country during his stay.
South Africa is the current chair of the African Union’s post-conflict and reconstruction of the Sudan and Mbeki’s visit would be an opportunity to assess progress made on this front.
