Mnangagwa’s inaugural speech at Zimbabwe’s new president- in full

This shall necessarily entail that we pay equal attention to all these areas over and above enhancing the capabilities of our Security Services so that they are able to deal decisively with any and all threats, whether existing or emerging. These include threats to our vital economic interests and objectives.

Today, the Republic of Zimbabwe enters the second phase of its birth. We emerge to fully affirm our belonging to the family of nations. We harbour no ill and belligerent intentions against any other nation.

The Southern African Development Community, SADC, is our home; we founded it from its beginning we recommit ourselves to furthering its vision and ideals. There can never be any doubt to our intentions to SADC, itself the fount of our foreign policy.

As we journey outward from our SADC house, we fully realise that we belong in the bigger house and family, the African Union. Whilst we were not free at the birth of OAU which championed the total liberation of the entire African continent from colonialism, we were creatures of sterling efforts of the OAU through its Liberation Committee which was based in the sister Republic of Tanzania, and of course through the Frontline States which hosted and coordinated the liberation struggles in Southern Africa, including our own in Zimbabwe.

The African Union, itself the sequel to the OAU, is our natural home and collective resource as Africans. Zimbabwe pledges its untrammelled membership, and declares here and now that it will play its role fully to make a success of the AU and all its programmes.

An important subset of the AU is the COMESA economic group of nations. There we are committed to contributing meaningfully to the realisation of the AU Agenda 2063. Zimbabwe’s journey since independence, has provided us with many lessons, some bigger and others so pleasant.

In particular, some bigger nations have attempted to make us bend to their dictates, working feverishly to confine us to the pariah status. We have successfully maintained good relations with the preponderant majority of the family of nations.

In truth, we never deserved to be maligned and/or economically and politically mistreated. I stand here today, to say that our country is ready for a sturdy re-engagement programme with all the nations of the world.

As we bear no malice towards any nation, we ask those who have punished us in the past to consider their economic and political sanctions against us. Whatever misunderstandings may have subsisted in the past, let these make way to new beginning which sees us relating to one another in multi-layered, mutually beneficial ways as equal and reciprocally dependent partners.

In this global world, no nation is, can or need be an island, one unto itself. Isolation has never been splendid or viable; solidarity and partnership are and will always be the way. We are ready to embrace each and all, on principles of mutual respect and common humanity. We will take definite steps to re-engage those Nations who have had issues with us in the past.

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