Nearing the end of his European tour, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met on Monday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, formally bringing to a close years of frosty bilateral relations between Harare and London.
Like other leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama have done during Mr. Tsvangirai's tour seeking political re-engagement and financial support, the British prime minister praised Mr. Tsvangirai?s ?courage...determination...strength of character and fortitude."
Mr. Brown announced new aid to Zimbabwe in the amount of 5 million pounds (US$8.2 million) taking British aid to the country this year to more than 60 million pounds. Mr. Brown said the new funding will go to food and school books.
However, much as other Western leaders have done, Mr. Brown insisted that Britain needed to see Zimbabwe taking "further rapid steps forward" in implementing political and economic reforms before it would significantly expand support of the Harare government.
While affirming his commitment to human rights, Mr. Tsvangirai said he was conscious of his government's shortcomings in meeting benchmarks set by the West, but assured Mr. Brown that "we will be working very hard to ensure that those conditions are fulfilled."
Mr. Tsvangirai will conclude his tour Wednesday in Paris meeting President Nicolas Sarkozy.