Zimbabwe wants new and friendly relations with Western countries who have been critical of it in the past, President Robert Mugabe said today. Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, also reiterated a call for sanctions against Zimbabwe to be lifted.

"Our country remains in a positive stance to enter into fresh, friendly and co-operative relations with all those countries that have been hostile to us in the past," he said at the opening of Parliament.

 Mugabe has long been a pariah in the West, blamed by critics for plunging his country, once the bread basket of southern Africa, into poverty through mismanagement and corruption.

 He has accused his Western foes of ruining the economy through sanctions in retaliation for a policy of seizing white-owned farms for landless blacks. Those countries say the sanctions only target him and close associates.

His government has also been criticised for human rights abuses, including repression of opponents and the media. After long negotiations, Mugabe formed a unity government with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in February to try to end a decade-long political crisis.

"Our re-engagement with the European Union block is gathering momentum. However, as our inclusive government re-engages the Western countries, we expect those countries that have imposed illegal sanctions, which have hurt our people and continue to hurt our economy...to remove them," Mugabe said. – Reuters