Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa is appealing for support to efforts to end terrorism and conflicts in Africa, and helping the continent deal with the devastating impacts of climate change.
Mnangagwa told the U.N. General Assembly that the spread of terrorism and escalation of old disputes is undermining efforts to restore peace and stability in the continent.
His comments came after extremists allied with the Islamic State group have spread their attacks further south into neighboring Mozambique's most populous province, Nampula, including an assault on a Catholic mission in which an Italian nun was among those killed.
Their insurgency had been confined to Mozambique's northernmost Cabo Delgado province, where an estimated 4,000 people have been killed and 950,000 displaced over four years.
The violence has also disrupted big economic projects, including one by the France-based TotalEngergies to produce liquefied natural gas and the development of a large mine to extract graphite to make lithium batteries for Tesla motors.
The extremists' push into Nampula comes despite the deployment for more than a year of a military force from the 16-nation Southern Africa Development Community, along with troops from Rwanda, in support of the Mozambican military.
Mnagagwa also said droughts and other extreme weather events are wreaking havoc to the economy of his southern African nation.
He said Zimbabwe is pushing to reduce its dependence on rainfall for agricultural production in a bid to mitigate the impact of droughts on its economy.
The measures, he said, include an ambitious program to build a number of irrigation dams around the country that he hopes will help spur the production of export crops and productivity.
Zimbabwe, and neighboring Zambia, is home to Lake Kariba – the world's largest lake and reservoir by volume.
Mnangagwa also warned that a combination of the COVID-19 crisis, conflicts and climate change is fueling a migration and refugee crisis that can only be tackled by joint efforts by the international community.
Production: Rodrique Ngowi