President Hakainde Hichilema has arrived in Rome, Italy for a reciprocal State visit at the invitation of Sergio Mattarella, the President of Italy.

Accompanying the President is First Lady Mutinta Hichilema and Foreign Affairs Minister Stanley Kakubo.

The visit follows President Mattarella’s trip to Zambia on 7 July 2022, where both leaders strengthened their Countries longstanding bilateral and international cooperation dating back to Zambia’s Independence.

During his visit to Zambia in 2022, President Mattarella acknowledged Zambia as a beacon of peace and a promoter of democratic tenets.

He further expressed Italy’s readiness to assist Zambia in various economic sectors, including mining, agriculture, health, and education.

President Hichilema will discuss Zambia’s advantageous geographical location endowed with fertile arable land and fresh water sources despite the challenges of climate change.

The President will attend the Zambia-Italian Business Forum, where he is expected to make a business case for Zambia by encouraging Italian investors to partner with local Zambians.

He is expected to encourage business investments and partnerships that increase local production through in-country mineral extraction, processing, and value addition to generate employment and strengthen the local currency from exports.

The President will further discuss the need to review the cost of capital that disadvantages Africa.

The Head od State will use this visit to thank Italy for its support in securing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and facilitating debt restructuring talks.

He will also acknowledge Italy’s timely response to Zambia’s Covid-19 challenge, involving the donation of over 500,000 Pfizer vaccines to the Ministry of Health.

This is contained in a statement issued by Clayson Hamasaka, Chief Communications Specialist.