Museveni meet Zimbabwe's Mugabe in US
Sep 23, 2008
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has held talks with Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe over the formation of a government of national unity in the South African country.
By Steven Candia
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has held talks with Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe over the formation of a government of national unity in the South African country.
The two, who are currently attending the UN General Assembly in New York, also discussed issues of mutual interest as well as regional matters, according to a statement from State House.
The statement did not specify what Museveni advised his Zimbabwean counterpart on the power sharing deal with the country's opposition, which was signed last week, ending months of political violence following contested elections.
Mugabe, who is to remain president under the deal, and prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai are deadlocked over the division of posts in the cabinet, the Zimbabwe opposition said on Monday.
Museveni in a press conference last month condemned the violence by Mugabe’s supporters but also raised questions about opposition leader Tsvangirai being funded by foreigners.
“Mugabe has got his own mistakes but is the opposition clean? Nobody could answer that. In the end we said: Since things are not very clear, you go and negotiate because you are both not very clean,†Museveni told journalists in August.
In New York, the President also attended a high level meeting on Africa’s development needs where challenges that hinder the continent from achieving the Millennium Development Goals were discussed.
African leaders warned that a lingering global financial crisis, coupled with the collapse of talks on a world trade agreement, could harm the UN campaign to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest.
At the start of Monday’s meeting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world’s rich nations to spend $72b a year to help Africa achieve the millennium goals to reduce poverty, improve health and ensure universal primary education.
Ban said the price tag may be daunting but “affordable,†pointing to the $267b the world’s richest nations spent last year on agricultural subsidies.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has held talks with Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe over the formation of a government of national unity in the South African country.
The two, who are currently attending the UN General Assembly in New York, also discussed issues of mutual interest as well as regional matters, according to a statement from State House.
The statement did not specify what Museveni advised his Zimbabwean counterpart on the power sharing deal with the country's opposition, which was signed last week, ending months of political violence following contested elections.
Mugabe, who is to remain president under the deal, and prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai are deadlocked over the division of posts in the cabinet, the Zimbabwe opposition said on Monday.
Museveni in a press conference last month condemned the violence by Mugabe’s supporters but also raised questions about opposition leader Tsvangirai being funded by foreigners.
“Mugabe has got his own mistakes but is the opposition clean? Nobody could answer that. In the end we said: Since things are not very clear, you go and negotiate because you are both not very clean,†Museveni told journalists in August.
In New York, the President also attended a high level meeting on Africa’s development needs where challenges that hinder the continent from achieving the Millennium Development Goals were discussed.
African leaders warned that a lingering global financial crisis, coupled with the collapse of talks on a world trade agreement, could harm the UN campaign to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest.
At the start of Monday’s meeting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world’s rich nations to spend $72b a year to help Africa achieve the millennium goals to reduce poverty, improve health and ensure universal primary education.
Ban said the price tag may be daunting but “affordable,†pointing to the $267b the world’s richest nations spent last year on agricultural subsidies.