HARARE - Australia will resume "selective case-by-case" contact with Zimbabwean cabinet, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith (Pictured) announced this week.
“In recognition of the efforts of parts of the inclusive government over its first year, Australia will consider opportunities for Ministerial engagement on a selective case-by-case basis with those ministers of the Zimbabwean government who we judge to be making a real and genuine contribution to Zimbabwe’s social and economic recovery,” Smith said. The lifting of the ban on ministerial contact is set to mainly benefit members of the MDC.
Smith also announced an additional US$8 million food aid for vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. Like other Western countries, Australia has maintained targeted sanctions against senior Zanu (PF) members who it accuses of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. The announcement by the Australian government came days after a top-level European Union delegation completed a visit to Zimbabwe as part of efforts to facilitate dialogue between Harare and Brussels.