Minister of Foreign Affairs Stanley Kakubo says Zambia supports efforts being pursed at both regional and continental levels to address the debt situation being experienced by many countries on the continent due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Kakubo called for increased investment and mobilization of financing which could contribute to the rapid recovery of economies of African Union Member States.
The Minister was speaking during consideration of the Agenda Item on the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on African economies at the on-going 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
Mr Kakubo said some sectors such as tourism, manufacturing and construction have been impacted negatively by the pandemic. He emphasized that the tourism and hospitality sectors has been the most affected.
The Minister informed the Executive Council that Zambia had put in place mechanisms like public health guidelines and rolled out vaccination programmmes to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the population of the country.
He said the implementation of these measures has led to a reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths recorded.
Mr Kakubo and Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo are attending the 40th Executive Council Meeting being held at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This is contained in a statement issued by Inutu Mwanza First Secretary- Press & Tourism Zambia Embassy, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
