Harare — UNITED STATES Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Charles Ray, has pledged to facilitate re-engagement between Harare and Washington to help thaw the frosty relations between the two countries.

Ambassador Ray said this after he and a visiting US Congressional delegation met President Mugabe for over one-and-a-half hours at State House in Harare yesterday.

According to sources who attended the meeting, the ambassador said he would assist a delegation representing members of the inclusive Government - including those under US sanctions - to visit Washington and engage authorities there.

"The ambassador promised that he will facilitate an inclusive Government delegation to visit the US and engage authorities there as part of efforts to improve relations," the source said.

Ambassador Ray, the sources said, also pledged to organise for a delegation to make presentations on the progress made by the inclusive Government when the US Congressional Black Caucus meets in South Africa.

Relations between Harare and Washington soured after Zimbabwe launched the Fast Track Land Reform Progra-mme in 1999.

The US went on to draft and pass a sanctions law, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act that cut the country's lines of credit from multilateral institutions with dealings with the US.

ZDERA sets the reversal of land reforms as a pre-condition for the lifting of sanctions.

Speaking to journalists after yesterday's meeting, delegation leader Mr Gregory Meeks said they had "fruitful deliberations".

"We had a constructive meeting with the President and we talked about improving our relationship and we have a foundation which we are working on and we are pleased with the conversation and we are pleased with what took place," said.

Congressman Meeks went on to describe President Mugabe as a "great man".

"As you know, he is a great man and we look forward to continue working with him until we have a relationship that all of us want to have," he said.

On the removal of ZDERA, Congressman Meeks said dialogue would continue to find an amicable way of resolving the issue.

"We are talking and we are going to continue talking in the positive way that we did," he said.

Other members of the delegation are Congressmen Melvin Watt, Andre Carson and Jack Kingston.

They are expected to meet other Government leaders, civic bodies and assess US-funded humanitarian programmes in Zimbabwe.

This is the second visit by a US Congressional delegation in six months.

Following a visit to the US by Finance Minister Tendai Biti in January, some US legislators who helped in drafting the sanctions law that has crippled Zimbabwe's economy promised to work towards its removal from their statute books.

Minister Biti will today meet IMF officials in Washington to try and convince them to restore Zimbabwe's voting rights and pave the way for the normalisation of relations.

The development comes against the backdrop of the extension of illegal economic sanctions by the European Union despite efforts by the inclusive Government to mend ties with the bloc.

At the formation of the inclusive Government, Zimbabwe and the EU formed a working group to mend relations and it was largely expected that Western nations would recognise progress made by lifting the ruinous economic embargo.