Outgoing EU ambassador positively impacted Zim-EU ties

📅 Published: August 16, 2025

📰 Source: zimbabwesituation

Curated by AllZimNews.com

His tenure coincided with President Mnangagwa’s Second Republic re-engagement policy, anchored on the mantra “Zimbabwe is open for business, enemy to none and friend to all”, a stark contrast to the strained ties of the First Republic with a pragmatic, results-driven partnership.

When Amb Kirchmann arrived in Harare in 2022, he inherited a relationship weighed down by two decades of mistrust, sanctions and political estrangement.

The tension was rooted in the early 2000s, when the EU influenced in part by Britain before its Brexit, adopted an isolationist stance following Zimbabwe’s land reform programme.

That period was marked by confrontational diplomacy, with previous ambassadors clashing with Harare over governance and sovereignty issues.

Brexit, however, gave Brussels greater freedom to recalibrate its Africa policy, allowing Amb Kirchmann to chart a new path.

His approach was grounded in bridge-building and mutual respect. “As an ambassador, it is important to build bridges. a bridge is where people meet from both sides,” he said after his farewell meeting with President Mnangagwa, where the two emerged sharing warm laughter.

This softer, partnership-centred diplomacy resonated with Zimbabwe’s re-engagement thrust and quickly translated into concrete results.

Over the past three years, trade between Zimbabwe and the EU has grown by 30 percent, while investment surged by 90 percent.

Annual trade volumes have reached about US$880 million, a figure that reflects the increasing integration of Zimbabwe’s economy with the world’s largest trading bloc.

Much of this success has been underpinned by the EU–SADC Economic Partnership Agreement, which allows Zimbabwean exports duty-free access to the EU market at a time when global markets face growing tariff barriers.

President Mnangagwa is the current SADC Chair and is set to pass the baton to his counterpart Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina at the 45th SADC Summit scheduled for Antananarivo later this month.

During his tenure, the EU also expanded its cooperation in key sectors such as renewable energy, climate resilience, healthcare, and governance reform.