Overview of Zambia-Egypt ties amid Lungu’s visit to Cairo

CAIRO – 14 November 2017: Tuesday November 14, 2017, witnesses the first visit of a Zambian president to Egypt in seven years. The Egyptian-Zambian relations date back to the latter’s struggle for independence from the British colonization, finally achieved in 1964. Later on, mutual relations between Egypt and Zambia evolved on the political and economic scales.

Zambia has supported the majority of Egyptian Candidates for international positions, and voted for the resolution submitted by Egypt to apply the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Middle East in 2008/2009, after abstaining from the vote in 2007. Egypt has held several training programs for Zambian cadres in civilian and military domains, according to the State Information Service (SIS).

In 2009, Egypt’s imports from Zambia reached $106.4 million, while its exports recorded $15.3 million. The top Egyptian exports to Zambia are electricity meters and parts, TV sets, electric cable, food products, juices, tires, medicines, medical products, cosmetics, paper products, textiles, carpets, paints, chemicals, construction materials, ceramics, and sanitary ware.

On the other hand, Zambia mainly exports to Egypt copper, tobacco, wood and wood products, according to SIS. The last Zambian presidential visit to Egypt took place in December 2010 by former President Rupiah Banda who held talks with former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on ways to boost bilateral relations before the eruption of the January 25 Revolution.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu will discuss with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi during his three-day visit joint cooperation, as well as regional and global issues. Zambian Ambassador to Egypt Topply Lubaya told Lusaka Times on Sunday that Lungu will hold site visits to the Arab Authority for Manufacturing, the Suez Canal Fisheries Establishment and the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). It is also expected that a number of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) will be signed by both parties.