President Emmerson Mnangagwa has called for the unconditional removal of Western sanctions on Zimbabwe, saying the country is making progress despite them and will not wait for them to be lifted before pushing ahead with development.

He made the call in a pre-recorded address to the nation from State House in Harare to mark SADC Anti-Sanctions Day, which falls on 25 October every year, The Herald reported. The President is in Moscow ahead of this week's Russia-Africa Summit.

"Sanctions not only punish our country, but the entire SADC family and infringe Zimbabwe's role in advancing an integrated Africa," Mnangagwa said, as quoted by Xinhua. "The development trajectory of our nation is moving from strength to strength despite the illegal sanctions," he said, according to The Herald.

Two-track plan

Mnangagwa said his government was combining "sustained diplomatic engagement for the removal of sanctions with practical measures", including more domestic production, value addition and competitiveness, The Herald reported.

He urged SADC countries to trade more with each other. "As SADC, there is need to increase intra-regional trade in both goods and services, while also scaling up investments that advance value addition and beneficiation to retain maximum value at source, within our communities," he said. He added that Zimbabwe's seat on the UN Security Council for 2027 to 2028 and its new COMESA chairmanship would give it more platforms to build partnerships.

Region backs the call

The main commemorations were held at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura, Mashonaland Central, on Saturday, under the theme "Leveraging Regional Integration and Global Partnerships for Economic Transformation Beyond Illegal Sanctions", The Herald and New Ziana reported.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chairs SADC, issued a statement on behalf of the bloc. "Today, our Regional Economic Community sends one message to the world: we seek the complete and unconditional lifting of sanctions on our sister nation, the Republic of Zimbabwe," he said. He called on the countries involved to choose dialogue and "do what is right for the seventeen million people who make up the Zimbabwean nation".

Why it matters

SADC leaders set 25 October as Anti-Sanctions Day at their 2019 summit, New Ziana notes. The government and the bloc describe the measures as illegal and blame them for cutting Zimbabwe off from international finance and investment.

The sanctions picture has changed in recent years. In March 2024 the United States ended its Zimbabwe sanctions programme, in place since 2003, and at the same time placed 11 people, including President Mnangagwa, and three companies under its Global Magnitsky programme, the US Treasury said at the time. In February this year the European Union lifted its remaining travel bans and asset freezes but kept an arms embargo, the EU delegation in Harare announced. A US law passed in 2001, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, still restricts American support for multilateral lending to Zimbabwe, Xinhua notes.

For Zimbabweans at home and abroad, the issue matters because access to international credit affects jobs, prices and the government's efforts to clear its foreign debt arrears.

What's next

Mnangagwa is due to attend the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow on 28 and 29 October as COMESA chair and to hold talks with Vladimir Putin.

Sources: The Herald (Wallace Ruzvidzo), 25 Oct 2026: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/were-in-an-era-of-irreversible-progress-and-self-reliance-comesa-un-to-provide-platforms-for-further-engagements/ · Xinhua, 25 Oct 2026: https://english.news.cn/20261025/935dfafdcdcf4418bf46349bbea1acbb/c.html · SADC, statement by SADC Chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa, 25 Oct 2026: https://www.sadc.int/latest-news/statement-he-cyril-matamela-ramaphosa-president-republic-south-africa-and-chairperson · New Ziana (Archford Chirimudombo), 24 Oct 2026: https://www.newziana.co.zw/zimbabwe-marks-sadc-anti-sanctions-solidarity-day/ · The Herald (Fungai Lupande), 24 Oct 2026: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/new-bindura-commemorates-sadc-anti-sanctions-day/ · US Treasury, 4 Mar 2024: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2154 · EU External Action Service, 18 Feb 2026: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/zimbabwe/zimbabwe-council-renews-arms-embargo-and-lifts-travel-bans-and-assets-freeze_en

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