Zimbabwean minister says ready to restore normal ties with new U.S. gov't

A senior Zimbabwean official has said his country was ready to work with the new U.S. administration to restore sound bilateral relations.

This follows the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump from the presidential elections of the United States held on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Information Christopher Mushohwe was quoted by the Herald newspaper on Thursday as saying that Zimbabwe hoped the Trump administration would restore normal relations with Zimbabwe.

Relations between Zimbabwe and the United States have been frosty since 2001 when the latter imposed sanctions on the African country over political differences.

Mushohwe said Zimbabwe wanted to maintain good ties with Washington and that at no point had it tried to pick a fight.

Zimbabwe, he said, would not pre-judge the new U.S. government, adding "it could actually be a better government than the previous one."

The Obama administration maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe despite concerted re-engagement efforts by Harare.

However, the U.S. government removed several Zimbabwean firms from its sanctions list this year, including three banks and two fertilizer firms. Endit