• UK Trade Envoy to Zambia looks forward to swift progress on Phase II negotiations.
• Minister of Commerce set out his vision to make the most of the trading potential of Zambia’s strategic regional.
• UK-Zambia bilateral trade currently stands at over £150million, alongside significant UK investment into Zambia.
UK Trade Envoy to Zambia, Laurence Robertson MP has congratulated Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry on Zambia’s ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In a Press Release issued to Money FM News by the British High Commission to Zambia Press and Public Affairs Section, the UK Trade Envoy to Zambia looks forward to swift progress on Phase II negotiations, and effective practical implementation of the AfCFTA so that the Zambian private sector can realise its benefits on the ground.
The development was made when Laurence Robertson completed a successful and productive first visit to Zambia conducted virtually which included meetings with the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, the Ministries of Finance and Mines and a range of UK and Zambian businesses.
According to the release, the Minister of Commerce set out his vision to make the most of the trading potential of Zambia’s strategic regional location in Southern Africa.
“The Trade Envoy discussed the role of the UK in supporting this vision, including recent progress on Trademark East Africa’s (TMEA) work with ZRA to design upgrades to the Nakonde border crossing between Zambia and Tanzania, and the UK’s partnership with UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support informal traders to resume their business safely during Covid19,” the Commission said.
Concluding the visit, the UK Trade Envoy, Laurence Robertson MP, said:
“This has been a fascinating first visit to Zambia and it’s been a pleasure to meet with so many strong advocates and supporters of Zambia’s economic potential. Building increased connections with the UK across all areas of trade and economic development is clearly a significant opportunity and I look forward to working with the Government of Zambia to deliver on this in the coming years.”
Meanwhile The British High Commissioner, host of the visit added,
“It has been a pleasure to host this first visit from our new British Trade Envoy to Zambia. Spreading across Zambia the shared economic gain of more Zambia-UK trade is central to our work here. We now look forward to building on these initial engagements and ensuring we maximize the benefits for both countries in our relationship.”
The theme of the visit was to build stronger UK-Zambia trading partnerships, increase investment between the two countries and support Zambia in taking advantage of regional and global trading opportunities.
Appointed by the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson in December 2020, the Trade Envoy has responsibility for enhancing and building on Zambia and Britain’s investment and trading relationship.
UK-Zambia bilateral trade currently stands at over £150m, alongside significant UK investment into Zambia, with aspirations to increase this substantially in coming years through increased British business participation in Zambia’s economic recovery programme.