By SHERRY CHABALA
President Hakainde Hichilema should seriously consider engaging China and Russia and strengthen bilateral relations with the two countries instead of only concentrating on the United States of America and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bowman Lusambo has advised.
Mr Lusambo, the former Lusaka Province Minister says the debt challenges the country is facing could be resolved once the two countries are engaged.
Mr Lusambo said it was shocking that President Hichilema opted to visit Senegal instead of frequently visiting China and Russia for solutions because the two countries had been Zambia’s best bilateral friends until the UPND took over the governanment.
He states that the current debt Zambia owes China could not be settled through third party negotiations but that President Hichilema needed to directly engage the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Mr Lusambo said the farming inputs such as fertiliser the country was grappling with could be resolved by President Hichilema engaging Russia.
He recalled that Zambia had changed its foreign policy on Russia and that the UPND administration voted against Russia at the United Nations General Assembly on the war against Ukraine.
Mr Lusambo said Russia was a major manufacturer of fertiliser, and that Zambia could be beneficiary of the commodity it government could consider engaging the Russian Federation.
He said President Hichilema needed to tell the nation as to why he has decided to abandon the two countries because the head of State had been frequenting other countries which have no potential to help the country.
And Mr Lusambo advised the President to treat all the countries Zambia has mutual friendship equally without showing clear preference for the West.
