Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said on Saturday African leaders had greater admiration for his country than ever before, as he returned from an African Union (AU) summit in Maputo, state television said.
Mugabe said his election as regional vice chair of the AU was ”an honour to us and it also serves paid to those in the hostile circles who think that Zimbabwe is being isolated.”
”There is greater admiration now for Zimbabwe than there ever was, and we are very happy about that,” he added.
The Zimbabwean leader has been in Maputo, in neighbouring Mozambique for the second AU summit since its inauguration last year. At the summit Mugabe was elected as one of five regional vice chairs of the body.
Although Zimbabwe, with its political tensions and economic hardships has been in the international spotlight, it was not on the agenda of the summit.
The AU summit took place at the same time as US President George Bush embarked on his first tour of the continent.
During his visit Bush, who does not recognise Mugabe as legitimate president, said the United States would ”continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe”.
Zimbabwe is politically deeply divided between supporters of Mugabe and those of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is currently on trial for reason. – Sapa-AFP