United States of America Senator, Chris Coons told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that relieving sanctions would provide significant economic lift for Zimbabwe.
US and the western countries imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe following the land reform program that took place in the dawn of the 21st century.
“Relieving sanctions would provide significant economic lift for Zimbabwe both because it would then encourage foreign direct investment, re-establishment of robust economic ties and it would bring the engagement with the Western world for Zimbabwe which has really been increasingly isolated, challenged and impoverished country over the decades of former President Mugabe rule,” Coons said.
The US said it would relieve sanction from Zimbabwe if the country is to follow democratic processes.
Coons also said Zimbabwe has widely been recognised as a country with terrific potential.
“It (Zimbabwe) has got a wonderful human resource in terms of very well educated citizenry,” said the senator. “It’s (Zimbabwe) got a legacy of infrastructure, developments and of agricultural potential.”
“It’s (Zimbabwe) got great natural resources as well and I think they (Zimbabwe) would find interested partners from around the world that would gladly come and invest in the development and the re-engagement with the region but as long as they are significant in place by western countries on Zimbabwe that raises both directly and indirectly challenges for them (Zimbabweans).”
“Indirectly it raises the question ‘Is this an economy where you could ever get your investment back out where the rule of law will be respected, where the courts are fair, where the constitution will be followed but also directly it makes it harder for them to access capital and harder for them to attract the sort of interest in engagement they would to revive the Zimbabwean economy,” Coons went on.
Zimbabwe has always been blaming sanctions which the country calls illegal for the economic challenges.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya is on record stating that the African country did not have access to international lenders to finance the government’s fiscal deficit due to sanctions.