Kalaba schools Zambians in missions abroad

Wed, 14 Dec 2016 12:31:15 +0000

ZAMBIAN diplomats abroad must promote the country’s investment potential as well as enhance economic diplomacy without which the country would remain economically and diplomatically isolated, Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba has said.

Mr Kalaba said ambassadors and high commissioners accredited to foreign countries should be versatile in their diplomatic tour of duty and exploit the advantages of Zambia’s political stability to attract investment.

Speaking when he addressed Zambian staff at the Zambian mission in Addis Ababa, Mr Kalaba implored them to be versatile in performing their diplomatic duty and look out for advantages the country could benefit from in that country.

Mr Kalaba told members of staff that they had a multilateral mission in Ethiopia and urged them to focus on hard work and support the efforts of President Edgar Lungu’s government to bring about development to Zambia.

“You must continue to work hard and you should understand that yours is a multilateral mission which you are expected to fulfil as you represent Zambia. I wish to encourage you to continue working very hard and be very versatile in your operations. You should keep on pushing Zambia’s agenda in her desire to promote economic diplomacy in a global economy that is interdependent because that is the best way of opening doors for many Zambians. The 15 million Zambians are all looking up to you that you can make opportunities become a reality,” Mr Kalaba said.

He commended Zambia’s permanent representative to the African Union (AU) and ambassador to Ethiopia Susan Sikaneta and her team for their commitment to the aspirations of the Zambian people and Government.

Mr Kalaba said he was happy with the working spirit of staff at the mission in Addis Ababa, stating that their culture and attitude towards work was what embodied the desires of all Zambians.

‘‘You embody the spirit of what we stand for as a people in Zambia, you keep on raising Zambia’s flag higher to ensure the country was adequately represented so that it could attract the best in terms of investment,” he said.

And Ambassador Sikaneta thanked Mr Kalaba for ably representing Zambia and the interests of the entire continent.

According to Ambassador Sikaneta, the matter of the Great Ingar dam power project in Ethiopia and that of silencing the guns by the year 2020 were of paramount importance for peace and stability on the African continent.

Mr Kalaba was in Ethiopia for the AU Foreign Affairs minister’s retreat to prepare for the AU summit in January 2017.

During the ministers’ retreat, various issues of importance to the AU were discussed, including holding of the first ever pre-election debate by the five candidates vying for the position of the AU chairperson for the commission.