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President Mugabe and First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe flanked by Vice Presidents Mnangagwa and Mphoko at Hre International Airport today.

Mabasa Sasa recently at the UNITED NATIONS
SCORES of people turned up at Harare International Airport yesterday afternoon to give President Mugabe a rousing welcome as he returned from week-long engagements at the United Nations Centre in New York, the United States.

President Mugabe had travelled with First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi —among other senior Government officials — for the high-level talks.

Minister Mumbengegwi leaves New York today as he remained behind to attend to UN-related business.

Present at Harare International Airport yesterday were Vice-Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko, several Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, service chiefs and various Government officials.

At the United Nations, President Mugabe was primarily focused on the Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the General Debate of the UN General Assembly.

At the Summit, global leaders adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (2016-2030), which succeed the Millennium Development Goals of 2000 to 2015.

President Mugabe said the SDGs presented an opportunity to create a “brave new world” through moulding of a new, committed global citizen who recognises the centrality of development to every country’s agenda and appreciates the equality of all peoples and nations.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, and UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon opened the SDGs Summit.

At the General Assembly, President Mugabe dressed down the “self-anointed prefects of our time” who were trying to impose alien value systems — such as “gay rights” — on the whole world, called for the lifting of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe, and rallied the world to invest in Africa instead of merely extending handouts that both kept the continent in bondage and perpetuated a dependency syndrome.

The African Union Chairman and his delegation were also involved in several high-level meetings focused on healthcare, gender equality, youth issues and employment, and the security situation in countries such as South Sudan and the DRC, among other engagements.