ZAMBIA’S signing of two bilateral agreements at the weekend with Angola on water and railway transport to facilitate easy movement of people and goods, will certainly increase trade between the two countries.
The two countries have enjoyed strong bilateral relations for many years but very little had been done on the economic front to help improve the living standards of their peoples.
Since Angola is now a peaceful country, it is only prudent for Zambia to take advantage of that country’s geographic proximity to the sea for economic reasons.
Currently, Zambia mainly relies on the Dar-es-Salaam port in Tanzania and Durban in South Africa for her exports and imports.
Yet the Benguela port in Angola, an important trade city, is the shortest route to the sea from here and we should, therefore, maximise this advantage to increase economic activities in our country.

.Lungu

So President Edgar Lungu’s visit to Angola at the weekend could not have come at a better time than now when our nation is trying to unlock its economic potential and increase trade and investment with other countries.
The signing of two agreements on water and railway transport will help in improving trade between Zambia and Angola since many projects aimed at uplifting the standards of living for the two peoples are expected to be initiated.
With the signing of a deal on water, we expect a smooth movement of water vessels where the two countries share some waterways.
It is hoped that this agreement will operationalise the development of the Shang’ombo-Rivungu Canal, which is a 10-kilometre waterway linking western Zambia to the south-eastern part of Angola.
Already the works on that project have reached advanced stages and Zambia has budgeted more than K1.7 million for the construction of about 10 staff houses which will kick off soon.
Once this project is complete, some rural parts of Zambia and Angola will be opened up to economic activities.
The pact on the railway transport, meanwhile, will see the connectivity of the 600-kilometre North-Western Railways of Zambia from Chingola up to Jimbe in Angola once the construction is launched by President Lungu before June this year.
So this particular project, estimated to cost about $1 billion, will link up with the Benguela railway line and will also see Solwezi and Mwinilunga districts benefiting from this arrangement economically.
The railway line will connect Zambia to the Angolan port of Lobito and about 45 per cent of the resources have so far been mobilised from the private sector.
After completion of this vital project, importation and exportation of goods from Europe will be eased and make Zambia a transit country as it will link Africa’s western coast to the continent’s eastern coast.
Angola is also setting up an oil refinery which will benefit Zambia, especially the North-Western and Copperbelt provinces, and this can further help in reducing the cost of fuel in this country.
With these projects, it is envisaged that the two countries will achieve sustainable and meaningful economic development which in the long run can turn Zambia and Angola into prosperous nations.