Canada welcomes Zimbabwe's resumption of newspaper publication

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon issued an statement on Monday, welcoming the recent decision by the Zimbabwe Media Commission to grant licenses to several independent daily newspapers to resume publishing.

Cannon said that one of the newspapers, NewsDay, has commenced publishing and is now available from street vendors and newspaper outlets in Zimbabwe.

He commented that it was an important step in the promotion of the freedom of expression and communication in Zimbabwe, and signaled an advance in Zimbabwe's democratic transition.

"With Canada's recent participation in the Friends of Zimbabwe meeting in Oslo, Norway, we had the opportunity to evaluate progress and the remaining challenges in Zimbabwe's democratic transition," he said.

He also said that Canada will continue to recognize and support positive developments in Zimbabwe but will also do its part in monitoring and speaking out against setbacks in this process.

Source: Xinhua