Professor of World Politics at SOAS, University of London, Stephen Chan said that United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson has no time to meet and talk to President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the UN climate change summit currently underway in Glasgow, Scotland.
The NewsHawks quoted Chan as saying Johnson has no time for Mnangagwa because he has key global leaders to engage on serious international issues. Said Chan:
Mnangagwa says he hopes to meet Boris Johnson. The best he will get is a handshake in the corridor or something equally brief.
Johnson has to have serious talks with [U.S. President Joe] Biden, [French President Emmanuel] Macron and [India’s Prime Minister Narendra] Modi. Zimbabweans have got to get used to it: in terms of importance, the country is rock bottom.
President Mnangagwa and his government has been desperately trying to use the COP26 climate summit to push their re-engagement agenda to end international isolation and their pariah status.
However, Zimbabwe’s diplomatic relations with the UK remain frosty despite the re-engagement efforts of late.
Mnangagwa’s visit to Glasgow was the first visit to the UK by a Zimbabwe head of state in 25 years after Britain, other Western countries and the US imposed sanctions on the country over alleged human rights abuses and failure to make political and economic reforms.