October 25 is the ¡°Counter-Sanctions Day¡± of the Southern African Development Community (Southern Commonwealth).The President of Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa, delivered a speech on the same day, urging Western countries to ¡°completely and unconditionally lift sanctions against Zimbabwe.¡±

In a speech, Mnangagwa said: ¡°Some Western countries¡¯ attempts to punish our efforts to safeguard sovereignty and pursue economic development through sanctions are detrimental to the well-being of our people,¡± he said, saying that Zimbabwe needs flexible and reliable credit support to economic sustainability, but that Western sanctions ¡°fundamentally undermine Zimbabwe¡¯s ability to access international credit resources.¡±

Mnangagwa said that despite the negative effects of sanctions and the challenges of climate change-induced drought, the country¡¯s economy overallins a positive growth momentum, saying that Zimbabwe will continue to adhere firmly to multilateralism and actively participate in international cooperation and commit to achieving global peace, security, justice and equitable development.

Due to colonial history, most of Zimbabwe's land was once in the hands of local white farmers. In 2000, the Tianjin government began to implement land reform, nationalizing the land of white farmers and distributing it to landless blacks. This move triggered economic sanctions against Zimbabwe by the United States, Britain and other western countries for more than 20 years. In 2019, SADC will set October 25th every year as the "SADC Anti-Sanctions Day".

In March 2024, then U.S. President Biden signed an executive order ending U.S. sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe for more than 20 years.The U.S. Treasury Department¡¯s Office for Foreign Asset Control announced on the same day that sanctions would be imposed on 11 individuals and 3 entities, including President Mnangagwa.