KEY POINTS
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President Mnangagwa will attend the Johannesburg summit of liberation movements to promote regional solidarity and strategic cooperation.
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The ANC-hosted summit brings together six ruling parties to reaffirm ideological unity and respond to modern geopolitical pressures.
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A final communiqué is expected to outline joint action on trade, security, youth inclusion, and Africa’s future development.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa will arrive in South Africa on Saturday, July 26, to take part in the Regional Liberation Movements Summit, a gathering aimed at defending Southern Africa’s liberation legacy while crafting joint responses to regional and global socio-political challenges.
The summit, currently underway in Johannesburg, has attracted key liberation movement parties from across Southern Africa. These include Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF, South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), Mozambique’s FRELIMO, Namibia’s SWAPO, Angola’s MPLA, and Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi, emphasized the significance of President Mnangagwa’s participation, describing it as a powerful symbol of the country’s continued commitment to regional solidarity and collaborative governance.
“His Excellency the President is coming, underlining and attaching the importance that we have to this discussion, this coordination, and to exchanging views with his colleagues in the region,” Ambassador Hamadziripi said in an interview at the Zimbabwean Embassy in Pretoria.
Summit builds new solidarity for changing times
Under the theme “Defending the Liberation Gains, Advancing Integrated Socio-Economic Development, Strengthening Solidarity for a Better Africa,” the three-day summit is a strategic move to rejuvenate the shared ideological and political vision of the region’s former liberation movements.
In an official statement, the ANC said the summit was convened as a “strategic intervention aimed at deepening intra-party solidarity and fortifying the liberation legacy against contemporary threats such as imperial pressures, economic crises and neo-colonial interference.”
This year’s summit comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and economic instability in the global south, prompting liberation parties to explore new pathways for mutual growth and protection of regional sovereignty.
Analysts say the summit could result in the establishment of a more structured platform for long-term collaboration on trade, peacekeeping, security, climate resilience, and youth empowerment among the six parties. Furthermore, Mnangagwa’s participation is seen as reaffirming Zimbabwe’s standing within the Southern African community following years of diplomatic isolation.
The ANC, currently hosting the summit, has also emphasized the need for ideological renewal to keep the liberation movements relevant to younger generations who face new forms of economic and social challenges, including unemployment, digital inequality, and environmental vulnerability.
Southern Africa’s liberation movements have historically played pivotal roles in transforming colonial and apartheid regimes. However, their post-liberation legacies have come under increasing scrutiny amid shifting demographics and governance expectations. This summit is widely seen as an attempt to re-anchor their relevance while jointly navigating complex 21st-century realities.
The summit is expected to culminate in a joint communiqué detailing a unified stance on global political realignments, trade protection, and intra-African cooperation. High-level engagements and side meetings are also scheduled to explore ways of integrating party policies into regional development agendas, especially under the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the SADC Vision 2050.
