By HELEN ZULU –
THE Scottish Government has set aside over US$6 million for support towards various projects in Zambia for the period 2017 to 2022.
Scottish Minister for International Development and Europe Alasdair Allan said his Government had allocated over US$6 million for support to various projects in the country for the period  2017 to 2022 in areas of
Health, Agriculture, Police and Renewable energy among others.
Dr Allan said in an interview that the money was not going directly to Government but would be given to Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to use in financing various projects related to agriculture, health, police and energy.
“The reason for this visit is because we work directly in four countries in the World and we are very keen to build up the relationship that we have with Zambia.
So our visit is to try and build up the connection that we have especially with the police, and improve our cooperation in
things like forensic and agriculture.
Dr Allan said Scotland intends to develop trade relations with Zambia, also focus on the development of agriculture through  partners and connect to work with a number of NGOs to develop agriculture in rural areas, with the allocation of $ 6 million for 2017-2022.
He explained that since his country was not yet independent to allocate so much money internationally, it was currently  working with NGOs in specific sectors that bid for funding in various projects.
Dr Allan said the relationship that exist between Zambia and
Scotland was good hence the need for it to be enhanced in terms of trade and cooperation.
He said his country was committed to working around developing trade, fair trade, and ensuring that global goals were achieved through economic growth.