By Jeremy Munthali
Zambia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkey on cooperation in the field of Defence Industry.
Minister of Defence Davies Chama signed on behalf of Zambia while Turkish President of Defence Industry, Ismail Demir signed for his Government.
Speaking during a Virtual signing Ceremony in Lusaka recently, Mr Chama said the signing of the Agreement on Defence Industry Cooperation between Zambia and Turkey was a demonstration of the strong bilateral relations that exist between the two countries.
“The signing of this agreement is long overdue, we are happy that we are finally signing this agreement today so that we can strengthen Defence Industry Cooperation between the two countries,” Mr Chama said.
The Minister called for expeditious implementation of the Agreement for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
Meanwhile, Dr Demir invited the Minister to attend the 16th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) scheduled for May next year in Turkey’s industrial and commercial hub of Istanbul.
He congratulated both parties for their hard work in ensuring that the agreement was signed.
Senior Ministry of Defence officials and Zambia’s Ambassador to Turkey, Dr Joseph Chilengi also attended the Virtual Signing Ceremony.
The Agreement on Defence Industry Cooperation signed between Zambia and Turkey is aimed at establishing cooperation in the field of defence industry by improving the defence industry capabilities of the two countries through more effective cooperation in the fields of development, production, procurement, maintenance of defence goods and services, as well as relevant technical and logistic support.
Early this year, Zambia and Turkey signed the Military Framework Agreement.
Mr Chama signed on behalf of the Zambian Government while his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar signed for his Government.
