South African President Jacob Zuma discussed Zimbabwe’s troubled power sharing government with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday as his state visit to Britain turned to thorny political issues.
Zuma went to Brown’s Downing Street office for breakfast talks, with Zimbabwe expected to top the menu.
After the pomp of Wednesday’s welcome and state banquet with Queen Elizabeth II, the visit was to focus on trade and diplomatic relations between the two Commonwealth countries.
Zuma and his latest wife, Thobeka Madiba Zuma, were greeted on the steps of 10 Downing Street by Brown and his wife Sarah. Brown shared a joke with the president’s wife as they posed for photographs.
Britain has been a fierce critic of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle.
However, Zuma has repeated his call for international sanctions on Mugabe and his coterie to be lifted, saying they were not helping the beleaguered administration.
“If they could lift sanctions, that would give Zimbabwe an opportunity to move forward,” the president told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Later yesterday, Zuma was to address members of parliament and invited guests at the Palace of Westminster and, in a bid to boost sporting ties between the two countries, he was also to visit the site of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Wembley Stadium in London, the home of English soccer.
The venue, where England beat Egypt 3-1 on Wednesday night, will see Zuma kick a symbolic penalty on the pitch.
Zuma started his three-day trip on Wednesday in a burst of color and pageantry. He was greeted by Queen Elizabeth on London’s Horse Guards parade ground before heading to Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn carriage.
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