President Hakainde Hichilema has held a meeting with European Investment Bank (EIB) delegation, led by its President, Werner Hoyer.
President Hichilema said that during the meeting, he briefed Dr. Hoyer about Zambia’s three priorities which are to recover, repair and revive the economy, adding that Zambia is keen on cooperating with the EIB on priority areas such as climate mitigation, infrastructure development, small and medium enterprise support, and human development.
President Hichilema said that the EIB delegation was informed that even though his administration inherited a bad economy saddled with high inflation and interest rates, coupled with unsustainable debt, his team is determined to put the country back on track.
He reiterated that he is keen on rooting out corruption completely so that any partnership with the EIB will be properly structured to benefit both parties and most especially the people of Zambia.
President Hichilema said Zambia’s best assets are its people, who are hardworking but have been let down by successive Governments and this is one of the things that his administration has embarked on correcting the very first day it formed government.
The President used the opportunity to sell Zambia’s tourism as well as send a message to investors that the country is open for joint ventures and that Zambians are ready to revitalize the economy.
In response, Dr. Hoyer reaffirmed his team’s commitment to work with the people of Zambia to address the challenges they face.
The President is among several African leaders in Brussels, Belgium, attending the sixth European Union-Africa Union (EU-AU) summit.
The 2 days summit, which has since opened, is being held under the theme AFRICA AND EUROPE – TWO CONTINENTS WITH A JOINT VISION FOR 2030.
The summit presents a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for a renewed and deeper EU-AU partnership with the highest political involvement and based on trust and a clear understanding of mutual interests.
President Hakainde Hichilema has said that Zambia will illustrate its readiness to creating an enabling business environment on joint ventures basis.
He has explained that Zambia intends to further explore the existing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) and how the country can leverage on them.
Original story on Lusaka Times