Zambia and Mozambique Should Manage Well Shared Resources – President Hichilema

President Hakainde Hichilema says Zambia and Mozambique must protect their shared resources for the benefit of citizens. He said this when he held official talks with his Mozambican counterpart, Daniel Chapo, at State House today.

President Chapo, who assumed office as Mozambique’s fifth president in January 2025, is in Zambia for a two-day working visit.

“The issue of the environment is very important. The negative effects of climate change need to be addressed in a holistic manner in Zambia and Mozambique. We have to protect our shared assets such as the Zambezi River,” President Hichilema said. He said food security should be enhanced in both countries.

President Hichilema indicated that Zambians and Mozambicans have had people-to-people interactions over the years and common history. “We acknowledge this interdependence that we have, that includes common languages, in some cases, especially in Tete Province. “There is a strong bilateral relationship between Zambia and Mozambique. We have a deep relationship that dates way back before our independence both of us,” he said.

The President recalled that during the struggle for Mozambique’s independence, Zambia remained steadfast about the importance of the whole region getting independent. “So our bilateral relationship is beyond what we may call political and economic relationship,” he said.

On investment and trade, President Hichilema said the two countries have to continue working together on many fronts, including on infrastructure development. “We have a big vision of having an oil pipeline coming into Ndola. We want to make sure that we develop those big infrastructure projects together,” President Hichilema. He added that the gas that is found in Mozambique needs to be exploited so that it can also benefit Zambia’s and other regional economies.

President Hichilema further thanked Mozambique for selling power to Zambia “during our very difficult times.”

“We sat on our laurels; we have very strong hydropower generation investments but one drought in the 2023/2024 decapitated us and basically dropped us from a situation of surplus electricity to a deficit situation. “Mozambique has been very supportive in this area and we thank you and the people of Mozambique. Without your support, our economy would have partially shut down because our mining and manufacturing agendas need a lot of energy,” he said.

President Hichilema also spoke about peace, security and stability, underscoring that all aspirations for economic development will not be attained in an insecure environment. “We want to thank you for your efforts to try and stabilise Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. Instability in Cabo Delgado is instability in Zambia,” said President Hichilema.

The two presidents also witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of the Chanida – Cassacatiza One-Stop Border post.