Zambia, Ethiopia to expand its trade corridor

Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:00:03 +0000

By OSCAR MALIPENGA

ZAMBIA will ensure that it begins exporting copper, sugar and cotton to Ethiopia at a higher scale, Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba has said.

And Mr. Kalaba has also announced that Ethiopians would want to be exporting leather products and textiles to Zambia.

Mr. Kalaba, who is Bahati Patriotic Front (PF) member of Parliament, said this yesterday at a press briefing where he announced that the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe is on Tuesday March 28, 2017 expected in Zambia for a three days State visit.

He said the Prime Minister was coming to strengthen bilateral relations between Zambia and Ethiopia.

Mr. Kalaba said during the Prime Minister’s State visit, there would be a Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation (JPCC) meeting at which various issues of mutual interest would be discussed between the two countries.

“One of the main issues that will be discussed is obviously the issue of trade between Zambia and Ethiopia as you know the trade volumes between the two countries have been very insignificant.

“…and it the intention of our two leaders President Edgar Lungu and Prime Minister Hailemariam to follow through the steps of our founding father Dr. Kenneth Kaunda and Hallie Selassie of Ethiopia that the two sister countries should trade much more,” Mr. Kalaba said.

He said the Zambian government would also take advantage of the JPCC to discuss the possibility of its colleagues in Ethiopia opening a mission in Zambia.

Mr. Kalaba said the Zambian government was also hopeful that during the State visit issues of visa waiver for Zambians going into Ethiopia would also be discussed.

“It is important that Zambia penetrates on the Ethiopian market because it one of the densely populated countries on the continent. They have over a 100 million people in there.

“…so for Zambia we will ensure that we begin exporting at a very higher scale of copper as well as copper products, sugar and sugar products,” he said.

Mr. Kalaba said on the other side of the divide for the Ethiopians they would want to be exporting leather products to Zambia and Zambia would like to be in a joint venture with them in the manufacturing of leather products as well as textile.

He said there was so much more that brought the two countries together than what separated them.

“So it is a very significant State visit and very crucial,” Mr. Kalaba said.

He said while the Prime Minister would be in Zambia he would take time to go to Livingstone to sample Zambia’s tourism potential.

Establish effective aid monitoring mechanisms, donors advised

By SANDRA MACHIMA

DONOR countries need to take into account critical assessment of local needs of recipient countries, and ensure effective monitoring mechanisms were in place to maximize aid effectiveness, Cheembe PF Member of Parliament Sebastian Kopulande has said.

Mr Kopulande charged that there should be no interference in aid management systems.

The lawmaker said European Union aid should not be tied to priorities chosen by donors other than respect for human rights and democracy.

Mr Kopulande said this when he presented a report on ‘Improving Aid and Development Effectiveness in EU-ACP Cooperation’ to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels.

“We need to examine the role of civil society organisations. When we are talking about people defining their own aid use, it’s important to look at issues surrounding civil society organisations’ involvement in aid management,” he said.

Mr Kopulande said since the primary aim of donor aid was to assist developing countries attain much needed economic development, recipient countries needed to be free to define their future by coming up with development plans they wish to implement in line with their local needs.

He said what ACP countries were asking for was self-determination to decide the use of aid resources through capacity building – as a way for economic development and prosperity.

Mr Kopulande expressed concern at the slow pace by donor countries in meeting the 0.7 percent pledge of their Gross National Income (GNI) official development aid.

He said he expected the trade relations and capacity that add value to the country’s own raw materials, to become more competitive in international trade.

Mr Kopulande further noted that the role of civil society in aid management was not helping aid effectiveness because most organisations were serving the interest of donor countries as opposed to recipient countries.