By SYLVIA MWEETWA  –
A delegation of the Sports Committee of the German Parliament is expected to visit the country next week.
The delegation will be in the country from October 20 to 22 and will meet various government officials, representatives of the Zambian sports governing bodies and stakeholders from civil society.
According to a statement released German Embassy public relations and micro-projects officer Marcel Grella, the objective of the visit will be to engage in inter-parliamentarian exchange and learn about past and recent developments in the Zambian sports sector as well as in the bilateral cooperation.
Grella said the delegation to be led by Dagmar Freitag will meet with Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili, Speaker of the Parliament, Patrick Matibini and the chairperson of the Zambian Parliamentary Committee on Sports and Youth, Elijah Muchima.
Further talks will be held with representatives of the Zambian Olympic and Paralympics Committee, the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) and the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) which are all supported through the German Sports Cooperation Program funded by the Federal Foreign Office and through funds of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Grella said the delegation will conduct project visits to Ng’ombe and Chipata Compound and donate sports equipment to St. Paul’s School in Lusaka before heading to Namibia and South Africa.
Freitag, who is also chairperson of the German Parliamentary Group “SADC Countries” will be accompanied by Mr Stephan Mayer and  Mr  Dieter Stier (both from Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party), Özcan Mutlu (Green Party) and André Hahn (Left Party).