We wish our women a happy International Women’s Day. We all know that our women play a critical role in social cohesion. We however must acknowledge that women are still disadvantaged which we all must address aggressively.

On the sidelines of the The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) today, we had a bilateral meeting with UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP.

Pleased to have received a comprehensive presentation from a consortium of investors in the energy sector, at State House this afternoon.

Delighted to have addressed the first ever Zambia - EU Pharmaceutical Forum at KK Wing of the Mulungushi International Conference Centre today. The theme, "Strengthening Healthcare Through Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing" is in tune with our collective effort to finding a resolution in the challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry in our country.

This morning, we held a meeting with the Africa Finance Corporation president and Chief Executive Officer Samaila Dalhat Zubairu and his delegation at State House, Lusaka Zambia.

This afternoon we took a visit to flood hit areas in Kabwata, Chawama, Kanyama and Matero constituencies of Lusaka.

We are committed to addressing and finding long-term solutions to the many challenges we have inherited. One of these challenges is resolving the issue of medical supplies in our hospitals and clinics at reduced costs and eliminating corruption in the sector.

This morning, we held a meeting with traditional leaders in the House of Chiefs in Lusaka.

We were delighted to have received a delegation of investors in the energy sector from the United Kingdom led by the UK High Commissioner to Zambia, Mr. Nicholas Woolley.

We were delighted to have hosted Professor Richard Williams, the Principal and Vice Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University of Edinburgh, Scotland with whom we shared a number of ideas around developing necessary skills in entrepreneurship, renewable energy, accountancy, management, strategic planning and many other fields, in our country.

We have returned from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where we had a productive AU Summit and advanced our work towards Agenda 2063.

Today we visited Chipata Trades cholera centre to extend our gratitude and encouragement to the frontline staff that are doing a wonderful job looking after patients who are recovering from cholera. We donated chlorine for sanitation purposes.

This afternoon we held a consultative meeting with Civil Society Organizations(CSOs) drawn from various segments. We discussed a wide range of matters around the debt question, governance, Human rights, the rule of law, independence of the Judiciary, the fight against corruption, Public Finance Management and many other issues affecting our nation.

We have arrived back from Windhoek, Namibia where we had gone to attend the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Troika Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.

We have arrived in Windhoek, Namibia for an Extraordinary Summit of the Organ Troika of SADC, that deals with the region’s Politics, Defence and Security.

It was such a humbling experience, to have met fellow Zambians that are resident in Senegal, who waited for long hours at the hotel to greet us yesterday.

This afternoon, we were honoured to welcome His Majesty Paramount Chief Mpezeni and Chief Maguya of the Ngoni-speaking people to Community House.

We have today witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a landmark Joint Development Agreement (JDA) between Zambia and the United Arab Emirates, aimed at facilitating massive investment in renewable energy in our country.