By NNN-New Ziana
Harare : President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has left for Portugal to attend the European Union-African Union Summit to be held in Lisbon on Dec 8 and 9, Information and Publicity Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu says.
He added in a statement that First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe and senior government officials are accompanying the president, who left here Thursday. Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi is already in Portugal as part of the advance team.
The Summit is expected to draw international attention as Africa and the EU have clashed over the participation of Zimbabwe with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirming Thursday he was not attending the summit because of President Mugabe’s presence.
The Lisbon Summit is the second after the inaugural one held in Cairo, Egypt, in 2000. The meeting could not take place in between because several African countries rejected a summit which excluded Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe and Britain have been at loggerheads since the former embarked on land reforms in 2000 which saw prime land owned by the white minority being redistributed to the black majority.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Joseph Msika is the Acting President.