NATIONAL Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda and his Mozambican counterpart, Margarida Adamugy Talapa, have pledged to deepen inter-parliamentary cooperation following their meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week.
The two Speakers briefed journalists in Harare after paying a courtesy call on Mnangagwa at State House last Wednesday.
Speaker Mudenda said the two parliaments have agreed to continue working together at regional and international level after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
"We have agreed that following our signing of the MoU, to continue to work together at the regional level to set up through the Parliamentary Forum, in Africa through the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and internationally through the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)," said Mudenda.
He said the visit by the Mozambican delegation will not be the last, as Zimbabwe expects to host Speaker Talapa again to visit tourist destinations.
"We believe that this visit is not the last. We expect that the Mozambique Speaker will be able to come back again so that she can see some places of interest, especially our tourist destinations such as Victoria Falls and Great Zimbabwe," he said.
Mudenda revealed that Speaker Talapa had extended an invitation for him to visit Mozambique, which he accepted.
"The Honourable Speaker has been gracious enough to extend an invitation for me to visit Mozambique, which I have accepted, and we shall do a new process in order to make that announcement. We come back together with members of our Foreign Affairs portfolio committee that is led by Hon.Webster Shamu so that we strengthen our Inter-Parliamentary Union and fraternal relations through our committees and parliaments," he said.
Speaking during the same media interview, Speaker Talapa said her visit included tours of the National Heroes Acre and the Museum of African Liberation, which she described as important for telling Africa's own history.
"We visited the Heroes' Acre and the African Liberation Museum. A museum that we think will count the real history of the African people, being their own Africans to tell their own history," she said.
She said the MoU signed between the two parliaments will foster closer ties and legislative exchange for national development.
"We signed a MoU between the two parliaments where the actions that will follow are there for the development of our parliaments, more proximity between our parliaments, exchange of legislatures, matters which will allow the development of our countries," Speaker Talapa said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
She said the meeting with President Mnangagwa came at a time when both countries are pursuing economic diplomacy to improve livelihoods.
"We know that we are in the era of economic diplomacy for our countries, which elements are implicated so that our countries may develop, establishing conditions for our peoples and countries. Today we had a call to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, as you can see. For us it's a great honour to be welcomed. It is quite historic. It was a reciprocal visit," she said.
Zimbabwe and Mozambique enjoy fraternal relations dating back to the liberation struggle.
