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British business puts out feelers in Zim

Harare - An official British business delegation is visiting Zimbabwe for the first time in nearly 20 years, in a move officials say might mark a thawing in relations between the African state and its former colonial ruler.

The five-strong team is looking to see how British companies can help the cash-strapped government in Harare raise money to fund its economic programmes.

"I consider this visit very significant. It is marking a step in our normalisation of relations," Zimbabwean Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said.

"London is at the centre of global finance. If you are looking for money you go where you can stitch deals," he said, adding that the whole process would take time.

Relations between Britain and Zimbabwe have been strained for more than a decade, with London accusing President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe of disastrous policies, including the often violent seizure of farms owned by whites.

'Go hang' - Mugabe

Last year Britain said the election that kept Mugabe in power was not credible, earning a rebuke from the 90-year-old president, who told his critics to "go hang".

Britain's new ambassador to Harare, Catriona Laing, said the business group, made up primarily of consultancy firms, wanted reassurances about the safety of investments and information about the black economic empowerment law that requires foreign-owned firms to sell majority stakes to locals.

Investors say that policy, known locally as indigenisation, represents a hindrance to investing in Zimbabwe, and the country has been starved in recent years of foreign funds and donor aid.

"This visit is very important because it will hopefully lead to the private sector coming back and pursuing the opportunities they have identified," Laing said.

Alex Lambeth from consulting firm British Expertise said the trip, which lasts until Friday, was sponsored by the British government and had taken 18 months to prepare.

"We are really looking at how to harness the finance necessary to reach the development goals the country has got," Lambeth told journalists.

Zimbabwe says it needs $27bn, twice the size of its economy, to fund a five-year plan dubbed ZimAsset to improve basic services and food security, and rebuild infrastructure.

The European Union has gradually eased sanctions on the Zimbabwe government over the last few years, but has maintained them on Mugabe himself and his wife. The EU is expected to vote next month on whether to resume direct aid to the government.

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