(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) Harare Dhu-AlQa'dah 11 1436 August 26 2015 SPA -- In an uncharacteristically affirmative speech
President Robert Mugabe said Tuesday he hopes Zimbabwe's recent
re-engagement with the West will bolster the nation's struggling
economy according to dpa.
"My government values the re-engagement of the western world in the
Zimbabwe economy" Mugabe usually a harsh critic of Europe Britain
and the United States said during a state of the nation address in
the capital Harare.
The 91-year-old said he hopes the former British colony will get
financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank.
Relations have been strained since western nations questioned the
legitimacy of Zimbabwe's 2002 elections which Mugabe's party won in
a landslide and criticized government for human rights abuses.
Poverty has continuously increased in Africa's former "bread basket"
in the 15 years after a mass expulsion of experienced white farmers
sent the economy into a downward spiral.
Economic growth is expected to reach 1.5 per cent in 2015 a year hit
by drought and falling prices of some of Zimbabwe's main exports
such as gold and platinum according to the IMF.
--SPA
02:52 LOCAL TIME 23:52 GMT
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