By Abigail Chaponda in London, United Kingdom
Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom His Excellency Lieutenant General Paul Mihova has said the Mission is exploiting further the business opportunities in the UK to ensure sustained contribution to the Zambian economy.
Lt. Gen. Mihova made the remarks when UK envoy to the Commonwealth, Philip Parham and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Head of Central and Southern Africa Department Sophia Willets-King paid an introductory courtesy call on him at the Zambian Mission in London.
Lt. Gen. Mihova noted that there were good trade opportunities available in Zambia.
The High Commissioner said he wanted to see more trade, investment and joint ventures between Zambia and the UK, to leverage the Commonwealth advantage.
“We want to see more trade between Zambia and British businesses because opportunities are plenty and we want to turn these opportunities into sustained growth. Zambia and the UK have strong historical ties and we are keen to encourage trade links with Zambia,” he said.
The High Commissioner also thanked the UK Government for the continued and invaluable support extended through the Department for International Development (DfID) in the fields of social protection, women empowerment, health, education, governance and accountability and private enterprise development.
He acknowledged the investments by the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) Group in agribusiness and telecommunication, and also a project finance by UK Export Finance for clinics and hospitals.
The High Commissioner said that during his tenure, he would like to build onto and strengthen the existing strong bilateral relations.
Lt. Gen. Mihova reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the core and principles of the Commonwealth as enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and reiterated Zambia’s commitment to the cordial bilateral relations with the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth family.
“The Zambian Government fully supports the administrative reforms being implemented by the Commonwealth Secretariat to ensure that the Commonwealth programmes benefit the ordinary citizens of the Commonwealth countries. We want to explore additional areas for closer cooperation and collaboration with the UK and Commonwealth Secretariat such as climate change, democracy and governance, girl’s education and women empowerment,” he said.
The High Commissioner also highlighted the need to establish a formal platform for regular bilateral consultative meetings between Zambia and the UK.
And Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Head of Central and Southern Africa Department Sophia Willets-King said the UK Government is committed to continue strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties between the UK and Zambia.
