By SIMON MUNTEMBA
ZAMBIA is committed to collaborating with the Czech Republic on matters of mutual interest at the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations, says Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Chalwe Lombe.
Mr Lombe, who is in charge of International Relations and Cooperation, said this when he led the Zambian delegation that participated in the second Zambia-Czech Republic political consultations at Charter House in Lusaka yesterday.
The Czech Republic delegation was led by Mr. Martin Tlapa, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The virtual annual bilateral meeting was aimed at enhancing the existing cooperation between the two countries and promoting the mutual interest of the peoples.
In his opening remarks, Mr Lombe noted the excellent bilateral relations between Zambia and the Czech Republic which dated back to the post-independence period and had continued to flourish.
He noted that there had been exchange of high level visits in recent years between the two countries and the cooperation in key sectors such as agriculture, health and rural development.
Mr Lombe said the opening of a resident Mission in Lusaka in 2017 raised the Czech Republic’s development cooperation profile in Zambia’s social and economic agenda.
He expressed gratitude to the Czech Republic for the continued support to Zambia in projects such as the development of integrated farming in Western Province, agribusiness for livelihoods, innovation, food and empowerment and support for development of value chains in agriculture.
Mr Lombe noted the adverse effects of the Covid-19 in many areas of development but expressed hope that Zambia and the Czech Republic would continue to contribute towards global efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of the scourge.
Meanwhile, Mr Tlapa stated that his country remained committed to strengthening bilateral relations with Zambia as evidenced by the support in agriculture, health, entrepreneurship and most recently, the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Tlapa welcomed suggestions of further areas of cooperation in line with Zambia’s development agenda in the agriculture sector, among others.
This is contained in a media statement issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Public Relations Officer Chansa Kabwela.
