Today was an eventful, proud and fulfilling day for the country. As Chief Marketing Officer, we undertook to promote the country as a business destination for both local and international investors.

We are honoured to have been invited to officially open the 10th edition of the Innovation Africa 2022 Ministerial Summit hosting over 300 delegates from across Africa and other parts of the world, the first of it's kind in Zambia.

Today was Remembrance Day where we celebrated the heroism of a generation of brave men and women, who sacrificed their lives in defence of the values of freedom, in the First and Second World Wars.

We were delighted and honoured to be part of the forum at the launch of the Africa Centres for Disease Control 'Saving Lives And Livelihoods' initiative for Southern Africa, that took place today at the Mulungushi International Conference in Lusaka.

We have returned from Sharm El-Sheikh in the Arab Republic of Egypt where we attended the COP27 High Level Segment for Heads of State and Government, at the invitation of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

On the sidelines of COP27 this morning, we signed an MOU with the European Union on Forestry Partnerships.

We have arrived safely in, Egypt ahead of tomorrow's Cop27 conference on climate change.

Today we are proud to announce to the nation and the world that our joint efforts with other stakeholders have led to over 75% of our eligible citizens being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Yesterday at the inauguration ceremony of Prime Minister Sam Matekane of the Kingdom of Lesotho at Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, we took time to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini, His Excellency Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku, and his wife Dimpho Masuku who were representing their country.

Today, we attended the premiere of a locally-produced movie ‘Can You See Us?’, a film that raises awareness of persons living with Albinism.

We signed MOUs with DRC. The private sector responded by signing deals, facilitated by ZDA, worth $24.5 million or K405 million at today's exchange rate.

Our warm congratulations to Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

This afternoon Mutinta and I had the rare honour and privilege to welcome to the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency Dr. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, and His dear wife and First Lady Monica Geingos who undertake an official visit to our country.

After we arrived on the Copperbelt today, we spent part of the afternoon and evening in touring Kabushi Constituency in Ndola to interact and exchange views with residents of this area.

This afternoon in Namwala, we were greatly honoured and privileged to have joined His Royal Highness Chief Mungaila to celebrate the colorful Shimunenga Traditional Ceremony of the Ila people of Southern Province.

We have reviewed the mining sector regime in order to encourage more investment and increase the participation of Zambians in the mineral value chain.

Your government has approved an amendment to NAPSA reforms so as to provide members of the Scheme an option to access part of the contributions before retirement. This is one of our campaign commitments.

We visited the Walvis Bay Dry Port to familiarise ourselves with the operations of this very critical facility that is a significant facilitator to the economic growth and trade for Zambia, Namibia and the SADC Region.

We were delighted to have officiated at the 2022 Swakopmund International Trade Expo (SWAiTEX), in Swakopmund, Erongo Region of the Republic of Namibia.