PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema says that his Government will leverage economic diplomacy to sustain the Grow Zambia Agenda for the next five years.
The President said that the country had gone through a successful transition from economic recovery through to stabilisation and would now focus on growth of the economy.
This follows the work done by his Government on restoring macroeconomic stability and fiscal consolidation in the first five years of his presidency.
The Head of State said this when he received credentials from eight newly accredited ambassadors and high commissioners to Zambia, at State House in Lusaka yesterday.
President Hichilema received letters of credence from Canadian High Commissioner Corry van Gaal, Nigerian High Commissioner Efe Alexandrina Clarck-Omero, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador Mohammed Saeed Mohammed Alkaabi and Swedish Ambassador Per-Ola Mattsson.
Others were Finnish Ambassador Marja Rosvall, Spanish Ambassador Maria Lourdes Sangroniz Guerricagoitia, Dutch Ambassador Matthijs van Eeuwen and Guinean Ambassador Dienabou Saifon Diallo.
The President said under his new mandate, the focus was to rapidly accelerate and grow Zambia’s economy, collaborating with the international community in deepening trade and investment and moving away from the culture of hand outs.
“Let us turn diplomacy into tangible results and prosperity. Let us speed up projects, transactions and specific deliverables through partnerships; business to business, people to people, Government to Government,” the Head of State said.
President Hichilema said the other pillar of his administration’s international profile was peace, security and stability, as a rules-based global order was cardinal to achieving the Grow Zambia aspirations.
“Instability anywhere is instability everywhere; a rules-based global order with equity, connoting fairness in trade, fair capital is essential. Value addition, joint ventures so that we can create jobs for our youthful population.Invite companies in your countries to come and invest here, to come and do business here because we have made the business environment more favourable. We are targeting five million tourist arrivals; showcase Zambia’s tourism products to your nationals and investors from your countries,” the President said.
