Zambian leader rues declining trade with Israel

Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Thursday expressed concern over the low trade volumes with Israel, saying more needed to be done to boost trade.

Lungu said when he addressed a first-ever Zambia-Israel Business Forum in Jerusalem that trade volumes between the two countries has declined from 2.3 million U.S. dollars per year to 500,000 dollars.

The Zambian leader said his government has embarked on strengthening economic diplomacy with countries such as Israel and will do everything possible to boost trade between the two countries, according to a statement released by his office.

He has since assured Israel investors of a conducive business environment in Zambia, adding that his government was in a hurry to create jobs and improve economic growth which could only be done through improved private sector investment.

Israel, he said, played a key role in the establishment of Zambia's biggest public university, the University of Zambia and the biggest hospital, the University Teaching Hospital, when diplomatic relations were established in 1964 until the relation was cut off at some point.

According to him, his administration was now in a hurry to cover up on the lost time as it opened its first ever embassy in that country two years ago.

The business forum was expected to provide a platform that will create appetite for Israel firms to invest in Zambia, he added.

Lungu is on a five-day State visit to Israel aimed at boosting economic cooperation between the two countries and has so far held meetings with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Endit