……Ambassador Mukwita calls it a vote of confidence in Zambia
Berlin, November 29, 2018
Zambia’s Ambassador to Germany His Excellency Anthony Mukwita says the successful negotiations of development cooperation that have just concluded between Zambia and Germany set the stage for more stronger ties between the two countries.
Ambassador Mukwita says the Berlin Mission is excited by the outcome and looks forward to deepening relations and exploring more areas of cooperation.
“This is yet again another example of Germany’s desire to continue working with Zambia for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries”, the Zambian senior diplomat says.
Mr. Mukwita noted that being the largest economy in Europe, continued engagement with Germany meant a lot as Zambia continues to engage other countries on the international front.
Between the 27th and the 28th of November this year, Zambia and Germany held negotiations for the 2019 development cooperation framework. The negotiations resulted in Germany reaffirming the country’s continued support for Zambia’s development efforts.
During the negotiations, Germany noted Zambia’s positive steps in the energy sector and in the support for refugees. At the same time, Germany called for increased commitment to issues of governance and the fight against corruption.
For the 2019-2020 period, the German government has committed 62,98 million euros (K850 million) focusing on programs such as financial governance, civil society participation, support to the decentralization process, renewable energy, capacity building in the water sector and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Further more, an additional 10 million euros has been committed for the support of refugee programs, especially for the Congolese refugees that fled into Zambia recently.
“This support is a vote of confidence in the leadership of President Edgar Lungu and an encouragement for all of us to do more”, Ambassador Mukwita says.
Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji, who was in Berlin recently, equally encouraged diplomats to “step up your diplomatic efforts as opposed to being focused on your paycheck.”
Ambassador Mukwita says the embassy in Berlin will, in 2019, begin to engage the German government on its Marshal Plan with Africa as well as the G20 Compact with Africa.
The two programs provide a framework through which the German government wishes to engage with African countries.
The German government has spent over a billion euros over the last fifty years of the country’s relations with Zambia covering a whole range of sectors.