'Come And Grow Zambia': Hichilema Invites UAE, Gulf Investors To Invest In Key Sectors

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has invited UAE and Gulf investors to participate in his government's five-year economic programme, noting the country wants to attract investment into mining, energy, agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure.

The invitation followed Hichilema's recent two-day visit to the UAE at the invitation of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

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Hichilema said:“Now that we have successfully concluded a two-day visit to the UAE, we cordially extend an invitation of our own to the UAE private business sector."

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“Zambia has started on a five-year programme to change the shape of its economy. We call it the Grow Zambia Agenda,” he added, noting:“We would like the UAE and the wider Gulf to be part of it from the beginning, and by part of it we mean partners with money at stake.”

The Zambian President continued:“The UAE provides a visionary and forward thinking government and business environment which has spent the best part of a decade building the industries it intends to live off once oil matters less than it does now.

“Renewable power, electric vehicles, manufacturing, food security. Almost all of them depend on things the UAE does not have and Zambia does. The obvious one is copper. You cannot build a turbine or a battery or a data centre or a desalination plant without it, and the world is going to need a great deal more of it than it currently digs up. Beyond copper Zambia is blessed with natural resources such as gold, cobalt and manganese, and land that has never been farmed and a population where half the people are under 18.”

Hichilema pointed out that Emirati firms are already looking hard at mining, energy, farming and logistics.

“What we would like to do now is put a trade agreement underneath all of that, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement our two governments have been negotiating,” he added, explaining:“It would give Emirati business a base from which to sell into more than half a billion people across the trade blocs Zambia belongs to, and give Zambian producers a proper route into the Gulf for finished goods.”

Hichilema underscored:“We have the resources and we have done some but not all the reforms that are needed. The UAE and Gulf has the capital and, judging by the last decade, the appetite.

So the invitation is this. Come and look at what Zambia has done in five years. Then help us with the next five. Help us to grow Zambia, improve the livelihoods of our people, and make a fair return at the same time.”

During Hichilema's visit to the UAE, several memorandums of understanding covering $2.14 billion in investment intentions were signed, indicating a strong appetite for investment in the Sub-Saharan country.

Meanwhile, Cornwell Muleya, CEO of Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Zambia's government-owned commercial investment and asset management institution, visited the Jebel Ali Port facilities in Dubai.

The visit was organised by UAE-based entities Meritus Developments and ADG Advisory and provided an opportunity for the visiting delegation to gain an insight into the operations of the busiest maritime logistics hub in the Middle East.

Zambia is increasingly positioning itself as a key logistics and trade hub for Southern Africa. In early 2024, Abu Dhabi based International Resources Holding via one its subsidiaries acquired a 51 per cent controlling stake in Mopani Copper Mines, one of Zambia's largest copper and cobalt producers, for an investment totaling $1.1 billion.

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