Zambia to receive 600 mln Euros in foreign investments: official

A top Zambian government official said on Thursday that the country expects to receive about 600 million Euros in foreign direct investments, mainly from Europe.

Minister of Finance Felix Mutati said the investment will come following his recent visit to some European countries where he held various meetings with cooperating partners.

In remarks delivered during a high-level dialogue meeting with cooperating partners, the Zambian minister said the economy has started picking up following the launch of an economic recovery program.

According to him, the country's economy has started gaining traction with the country exceeding the target in revenue collection for the month of January while the inflation rate has continued on a single digit path.

"We are gaining momentum and we are getting on track with our economic recovery program," he said.

He added that liquidity on the market has started to improve while the government was sticking with its plan of only funding projects that were budgeted for.

He however said the government needed to address the problem of fiscal deficit in order to grow the economy.

Swedish Ambassador to Zambia Henrik Cederin, who spoke on behalf of the cooperating partners, said the country's economic recovery program has the potential to move the country forward.

Zambia announced its economic recovery program for 2017 aimed at sustaining the country's economic growth after a dip in economic growth seen in 2015 and 2016 due to a slump in commodity prices on the international market and domestic challenges such as a power deficit. Endit