Zimbabwe is profoundly grateful to Russia for its role in helping the African nation secure independence, President Emmerson Mnangagwa stated on Sunday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a square named in honor of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the capital Harare, Mnangagwa highlighted the ties between Zimbabwe and Russia, as well as China.
“Our struggle for freedom and independence would not have succeeded without the help and solidarity of China and Russia, to whom we are indebted and will never forget it,” he said.
According to the president, Harare will grant one hectare of land in the new Liberation City complex to each country that contributed to Zimbabwe’s fight for independence.
Liberation City, a 100-hectare complex located in western Harare, is set to become a major landmark in Zimbabwe, and will include the African Liberation Museum, alongside research and educational institutions, recreational facilities, and business centers. Specific sections of the complex have been allocated to 12 countries on the continent.
The museum will feature exhibitions honoring the struggles of African nations in their fight against colonialism and oppression. There also will be a monument dedicated to the SADC countries that supported Zimbabwe’s struggle against white minority rule when the country was named Southern Rhodesia. The complex will also include Africa’s first monument honoring the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Mnangagwa officially handed over a hectare of land designated in SADC Liberation Square to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the newly appointed chairperson of the regional bloc’s security department.
After the ground-breaking ceremony, SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi planted a tree at the site, symbolically named the SADC Tree, representing the unity and growth of the region.
“Our protracted liberation struggles remain invaluable and imprinted in our psyche at national and regional levels,” the Zimbabwean leader claimed.
The SADC was founded in 1992, evolving from the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC). Its primary mission is to foster regional socio-economic cooperation and integration, while also promoting political and security collaboration among its 16 member countries in Southern Africa.