Diplomats Praise Zambia's Development and Predict Future Growth

Gathering at the 5th Annual Corporates and Diplomats’ Gala, a number of diplomats have praised the economic development of Zambia in recent years. Many spoke admirably of the way in which the New Dawn government’s policies have facilitated further change.

The American Ambassador to Zambia, Michael Gonzales, was particularly positive about the nation’s prospects. He praised “excellent strategies and policies” being implemented by the government.

“If the government is going to continue implementing these strategies, the country will go far in terms of development. And I would love the government to continue engaging the private sector who are good partners for development”, Gonzales commented.

The Government of Zambia via the Zambia Development Agency have made particular efforts to induce foreign direct investment through their recently launched Zambia is Back campaign. Further, financial incentives have been introduced for the tax year 2023 such as concessions in the manufacturing industry and green energy bonds. USAID has also recently announced two new programmes in the country, in conjunction with the private sector, in order to further develop an enticing business environment.

Speaking with regard to the remarkable efforts of the government to cut inflation from record levels down to below 10%, the Finish Ambassador to Zambia, Saana Halinen, praised the country for undertaking such a transformation in a challenging global economic environment. In the words of the IMF the world is experiencing a “broad-based and sharper-than-expected [economic] slowdown” this year. Yet, Zambia’s economy has continued to grow and inflation has continued to fall.

“There are a lot of challenges that have continued to affect different countries but Zambia has managed to put things in place in the midst of economic challenges which is very impressive”, commented the ambassador.

The ambassadors also discussed Gender-Based Violence as an issue that needs addressing. 17% of Zambian women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. The American ambassador insists that education across all sections of society is vital to combat this problem.

“Service providers should be educated together with the general public including boys and girls on what is respectful and what is not respectful adding that this will help reduce the number of GBV cases,” Mr Gozales said.

UN programmes such as the Zambia National Men’s Network on Gender and Development, in conjunction with the government, have been working to reduce gender-based violence in the country for a number of years.

Finally, the Czech ambassador and the Finnish ambassador praised Zambia as a bastion of democracy amidst challenging regional circumstances. The Czech ambassador in particular praised the government’s efforts to contribute to regional peacekeeping missions. Zambia is set to co-host the second Summit for Democracy in March 2023 alongside the United States.