VZCZCXRO2689
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0465 1561238
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051238Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4567
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2298
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2864
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2983
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1422
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2246
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2613
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3031
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5472
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2155
RUZEHAA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS HARARE 000465 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. WALCH 
DRL FOR N. WILETT 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR M. GAVIN 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ASEC KDEM PGOV PREL ZI
SUBJECT:  ZIMBABWEAN STATE DINNER HONORING THE KING OF SWAZILAND 
 
¶1. (U) On June 3, President Robert Mugabe held a State dinner at the 
Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare in honor of visiting King Mswati III 
of Swaziland.  The dinner occurred before King Mswati departed to 
Victoria Falls for the COMESA Summit.  Mugabe thanked the King for 
his support of the inclusive government and stressed the importance 
of continued cooperation between the two countries, especially on 
the economic front. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Government of Zimbabwe Representation 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Poloff attended the dinner along with other diplomats and 
leading members of Zimbabwe's busines community.  Representing the 
Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) at the event were President Mugabe and 
First Lady Grace Mugabe, Vice President Joyce Mujuru, Deputy Prime 
Minister Arthur Mutambara, General Constantine Chiwenga and the 
Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda.  King Mswati was accompanied by 
his fourteenth wife, who sat next to the First Lady during the 
dinner.  (COMMENT: First Lady Mugabe appeared to have aged 
significantly, looking much older than forty-four and much thinner 
than she appeared in recent photographs. END COMMENT.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Continued Cooperation between Zimbabwe and Swaziland 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶3.  (U) During his ten-minute toast to King Mswati, Mugabe thanked 
the King for his continued support of Zimbabwe.  He highlighted two 
recent visits the King had made to Zimbabwe, and thanked him for 
coming to the swearing-in of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.  He 
stressed the need for African countries to work together through 
trade to build their economies.  Mugabe said that it was important 
for Zimbabwe and Swaziland to continue to cooperate, especially on 
the economic front, and to become partners in trade.  Mugabe also 
touted recent progress and cited the lifting of "unjustified" travel 
warnings by western nations and the upcoming meetings between GOZ 
officials and the United States Government as evidence of this 
progress.  During a brief speech, King Mswati also stressed the 
importance of a strong relationship between Zimbabwe and Swaziland. 
However, King Mswati's speech also underlined the need for the 
inclusive government to succeed and for stability in Zimbabwe. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) President Mugabe's toast framed the current situation in 
Zimbabwe in a positive light.  Notably, Mugabe only mentioned the 
West's "illegal" sanctions once.  Most of the people attending the 
dinner were local businessmen and women and members of the 
diplomatic community.  However, because the COMESA Summit had 
already begun, many key government officials were not present. END 
Qalready begun, many key government officials were not present. END 
COMMENT. 
 
MCGEE