US seeks improved relations with Zimbabwe

US seeks improved relations with Zimbabwe
Published: 13 December 2013
THE United States seeks to establish positive economic ties with Zimbabwe, a US official said recently while visiting the country.

United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Shannon Smith who was in Zimbabwe last week said the primary goal of US foreign policy in Zimbabwe is to see Zimbabwe prosper and grow economically.

"The United States wants to see Zimbabwe prosper. We want to see its people enjoy health, democracy and security under the new constitution. We believe in engagement and in dialogue in order to advance these shared objectives.

"The same motivations drive US programs such as the President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR, which works with Zimbabweans in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Similarly, US programs to promote food security in Zimbabwe or to promote economic opportunity," she said.

The United States of late appears to be softening its stance on Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe-US trade has been on an upturn over the last couple of years.

In 2008, trade with the US accounted for 6,5 percent of Zimbabwe's external trade, more than twice the 2003 share. For instance, in 2009 and 2010, annual US goods exported to Zimbabwe rose 30 percent over the 2000 to 2008 average. Although bilateral trade between the two declined sharply in 2009, a development which analysts attribute to the global economic downturn during that period, it recovered by 18 percent in 2010.

US Census Bureau (Foreign Trade) data show that during the first eight months of 2011 Zimbabwe and the US traded goods worth $94 million, a 46 percent increase over the first eight months of 2010.
- bh24
Tags: Zimbabwe, US,

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