President Robert Mugabe welcomed the first top-level European Union delegation to visit Zimbabwe in seven years with ‘open arms’ and said talks on implementing a power-sharing deal went well.
Mr Mugabe's change in tone suggested he may be more willing to cooperate with Western powers crucial to Zimbabwe's efforts to secure billions of dollars in aid and foreign investment.
The visit by EU Aid and Development Commissioner Karel De Gucht and the Swedish EU presidency is the first since the EU began targeted sanctions in 2002 against members of Mugabe's government for human rights violations.
‘We established a good rapport, it was a friendly meeting. Obviously they thought the Global Political Agreement was not working well,’ Mr Mugabe said after the talks.
The EU delegation also met Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Bulawayo, the second capital.
Mr Tsvangirai said his discussion with the EU focused on reforms and economic co-operation.
Zimbabwe says it needs $10 billion (€6.85bn) in foreign reconstruction aid.
Western nations are reluctant to release cash without further political and economic reform promised as part of the power-sharing deal, called the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
