UK resets ties with Zimbabwe in push for critical minerals

ZIMBABWE and the UK are rekindling diplomatic ties after almost three decades of tension, driven by a global surge in demand for critical minerals that’s led the former colonial power to pursue $1 billion in deals with the resource-rich nation.

- BLOOMBERG

In June, the UK dispatched Minister for Africa Lord Ray Collins of Highbury to meet Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other senior leaders. The trip marked a rare encounter between the two nations’ officials after years of deteriorating relations, especially under former President Robert Mugabe - a vocal critic of Britain’s 90-year colonial rule of the southern African nation.

Collins described his visit as a “mission for economic growth” that would lead to “a win-win situation” for both countries. The British Embassy in Harare echoed that sentiment in the past week, citing a $1 billion pipeline of prospective deals across key sectors such as agriculture, finance, telecommunications, renewable energy and critical minerals that it wants to close.

It identified the 30-megawatt Vungu solar energy investment as a “beacon project” and said others will follow soon.

“The UK is working hard to increase trade and investment for mutual benefit,” a spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions.

Zimbabwe's foreign affairs spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.

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