ZIMBABWEAN STATE DINNER HONORING THE KING OF SWAZILAND

UNCLAS HARARE 000465 SENSITIVE SIPDIS AF/S FOR B. WALCH DRL FOR N. WILETT ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR M. GAVIN STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM ASEC KDEM PGOV PREL ZI SUBJECT: ZIMBABWEAN STATE DINNER HONORING THE KING OF SWAZILAND ¶1. (U) On June 3, President Robert Mugabe held a State dinner at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare in honor of visiting King Mswati III of Swaziland. The dinner occurred before King Mswati departed to Victoria Falls for the COMESA Summit. Mugabe thanked the King for his support of the inclusive government and stressed the importance of continued cooperation between the two countries, especially on the economic front. -------------- Government of Zimbabwe Representation -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Poloff attended the dinner along with other diplomats and leading members of Zimbabwe's busines community. Representing the Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) at the event were President Mugabe and First Lady Grace Mugabe, Vice President Joyce Mujuru, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, General Constantine Chiwenga and the Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda. King Mswati was accompanied by his fourteenth wife, who sat next to the First Lady during the dinner. (COMMENT: First Lady Mugabe appeared to have aged significantly, looking much older than forty-four and much thinner than she appeared in recent photographs. END COMMENT.) -------------- -------------- Continued Cooperation between Zimbabwe and Swaziland -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) During his ten-minute toast to King Mswati, Mugabe thanked the King for his continued support of Zimbabwe. He highlighted two recent visits the King had made to Zimbabwe, and thanked him for coming to the swearing-in of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. He stressed the need for African countries to work together through trade to build their economies. Mugabe said that it was important for Zimbabwe and Swaziland to continue to cooperate, especially on the economic front, and to become partners in trade. Mugabe also touted recent progress and cited the lifting of "unjustified" travel warnings by western nations and the upcoming meetings between GOZ officials and the United States Government as evidence of this progress. During a brief speech, King Mswati also stressed the importance of a strong relationship between Zimbabwe and Swaziland. However, King Mswati's speech also underlined the need for the inclusive government to succeed and for stability in Zimbabwe. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) President Mugabe's toast framed the current situation in Zimbabwe in a positive light. Notably, Mugabe only mentioned the West's "illegal" sanctions once. Most of the people attending the dinner were local businessmen and women and members of the diplomatic community. However, because the COMESA Summit had already begun, many key government officials were not present. END Qalready begun, many key government officials were not present. END COMMENT. MCGEE