EU must do more with Zambia, Africa – President Hichilema

President Hakainde Hichilema says the European Union (EU) must do more with Zambia and Africa.

He said Africa and the EU have one of the longest interactions in human history.

“But along the way, we both dropped the ball and focused on political relationships.

“But the underlining value was not attended to; deepening our business, investment, trade cooperation. We have to work together in that space,” President Hichilema said when he officially opened the Zambia – EU Lobito Corridor Business Forum in Chongwe today.

The President said now is the time to attend to what Africa and Europe have been ignoring for a long time.

“Yes, trade has been taking place but on a one-dimension basis; Africa’s raw materials and labour being taken into Europe.

“But now is the time to engage into real business partnerships – investing together – given Africa’s huge resource endowments,”

 He added that Zambia, in particular, has huge resource endowments which must be exploited properly.

“Capital has to come here at the right price so that we don’t have a higher cost of doing business driven by the cost of capital.

“Africa and Zambia need the best technology for mutual benefit. The best technology will help us to deliver efficiently on our objectives,” President Hichilema said.

The President asked prospective investors to see Africa not from the historical angle of being a provider of raw materials.

“We need to see joint ventures between European and African businesses.   

“Europe must do more with Zambia and Africa. Do not create a gap consciously or unconsciously. We have a long history of working together,” President Hichilema said.

He added that African labour helped to build Europe and now is the time to work together to build Africa and solve some of the problems Europe is facing injected from Africa and Africans.

EU commissioner for international partnerships Jozef Sikela said the EU and its members have mobilised 2 billion Euros to expand the existing Lobito corridor to help connect Angola, the DRC and the Zambia to the Atlantic Ocean.

He said the EU views the Lobito Corridor as much more than an infrastructure project, but a corridor of opportunities.

“We want to build these build opportunities together with you. It’s an opportunity to create jobs – to link farmers and industries to markets,” said Sikela.