President Edgar Lungu has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his entire cabinet wanted to come with him to Israel.
President Lungu who is visiting Israel on a five-day state visit said his entire cabinet was excited about the trip and all his Ministers wanted to follow.
He said his entire cabinet wanted to come along for good reasons but that he could only carry eight Ministers.
President Lungu has travelled with Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Trade and Industry, Energy, Tourism, Water Development and Environment, Transportation and Health.
He was speaking to the media on Tuesday afternoon after meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu at his office.
“Zambia have been friends with Israel on and off and this time around we will be friends forever. My Ministers are happy to be here and the entire cabinet wanted to be here for good reasons. The relationship has been enhanced by the establishment of an Embassy here from 2015 to now we have escalated our friendship much more,” President Lungu said.
“My visit is an opportunity to explore further areas of corporation especially in Water and energy, it’s a shame that we have a lot of water and we are coming here to learn. It’s not a coincidence because you have learnt how to find water from the sea,” he said.
President Lungu also stated that Zambia went through a lot of anguish when it broke off ties with Israel between 1973 to 1993 saying it is now time we strengthen the friendship.
At its peak, some 1,000 Jews lived in Zambia, though that number has dwindled to only about 30 today.
There are three Jewish cemeteries in the country.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has asked President Lungu to help Israel regain its observer status at the African Union, a position it lost in 2002 and has had trouble regaining, primarily because of the objection of South Africa and the North African Muslim states.
The Palestinian Authority enjoys this status in the AU and as a result Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is able each year to address the AU annual summit, something denied to Israel.
Zambia is one of the few African countries with a military attaché in Israel at its embassy which it opened in 2015.
Israel does not have an embassy in Zambia.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said after meeting President Lungu that his country “has undergone an amazing and admirable change in a transition to democracy since the ‘90s.”
He said that Israel hopes to “deepen its cooperation with the country, which I think is important for both our countries and both our peoples. I know that you’re opening a Jewish history museum in Zambia and soon a synagogue in the capital city. I hope one day I have the opportunity to visit those institutions and to visit Zambia.”
“I want to thank you for your friendship. It was well demonstrated in our meeting in Entebbe (Uganda) and we’ve been working together to strengthen and deepen the relations between Zambia and Israel. A year –and-a-half ago you opened an embassy in Israel and many, many of your Ministers have visited Israel recently and are visiting again today in fields of water, agriculture, education and also security, defence, anti-terrorism and many, many other areas,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said.
“We hope to send our experts to help with alternative energy, with water and other areas that we’ll discuss today. I look forward to deepening this cooperation, which I think is important for both our countries and both our peoples. I know that you’re opening a Jewish history museum in Zambia and soon a synagogue in the capital city. I hope one day I have the opportunity to visit those institutions and to visit Zambia.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu said however stated that the future of Zambia and the future of so many African countries is being challenged by the rise of radical Islam and the terrorism that is espouses.
He said radical Islam and the fanaticism that it instils in young people is a challenge to countries like Zambia.
“I think that it’s a battle between the past and the future. We firmly stand on the side of the future, of modernity,” he said.
“I just showed you, Mr. President, a relic from our past. We’re very proud of our past, our Biblical past and our modern effort to come back to our ancient land but we seek to develop a hopeful and bright future for our people and we are as equally committed to do that for the people of Africa. So, I think we have to seize the future together but also work together to defeat the forces that want to take us to a dark past.”
He added, “In seizing the future, Israel is coming back to Africa in more than a verbal way. After this visit to East Africa, I’ll be going to Togo in West Africa in a few months. There will be a summit there to discuss Israeli technology in so many areas, in agriculture, in water, in cyber security, in every field of technology. I hope that we’ll be able to meet once more within a few months. But in any case, I want to assure you of our friendship and our commitment to our relationship and that is why I welcome you on a red carpet.”
Primitive leadership of a dirty and primitive country.
He thinks the PM will be excited by that…really laughable
Yes itz true, i wanted to carry my entire pf cabinet, their spouses and children.
@JoeBiggs:
You dirty mother fuc.king pig – Ar.sewhore! Zambia is NOT primitive and neither is it dirtier than your grandmother’s AR.SE! Zambia is not like your mother is with her smelly unwashed puss.ey!
Leave our country alone, no one needs you loser. Nobody even recognises your irrelevant existence in the stupid so called western countries.
You piece of sh.it dirty son of the evil bitch!!
You dirty mother fuc.king pig – Ar.sew.hore! Zambia is NOT prim.itive and neither is it dirtier than your grand mother’s AR.SE! Zambia is not like your mother is with her smelly unwashed pus.s.ey!
Leave our country alone, no one needs you lo.ser. Nobody even recognises your irrelevant existence in the stup.id so called western countries.
You piece of sh.it dirty son of the evil bit.ch!!
Is that the nonsense to discuss at a heads of state meeting?
All my god…this bum can not delegate anything…here is clear evidence of myopia leadership and recklessness i always talk about!!
I am not sure who to condemn here – Lungu for such a daft confession or his Cabinet for being so frivolous with their national roles. Anyway, this confession just shows that the PF govt is bent on lining their pockets with foreign travel allowances even when there’s no reason for the travel.
SERIOUSLY!!!!!!?????? He is even saying I could only carry 8 as if that is a small number. What is wrong with this man? Wasting our hard earned money carrying 8 ministers. Unbelievable!!!!!!!
A truly unPresidential President! Lungu represents what happens when a low class individual is set loose with instruments of power. Careless talk, careless behaviour. This is not humility but plain unwashed and unsophisticated behaviour.
The entire cabinet?…were they serious or joking?
Zambia has no problems with fanaticism, it’s Israel that does – don’t project onto us please
Zambian leaders are fun they want to be tourists
YAAAAH…BA LUNGU..SO WHAT IF THE WHOLE CABINET WANTED TO COME? To Israel this just shows HOW UN FOCUSED YOU ARE- synagogues, museums,..”there were 1000 Jews now only 30″ SO WHAT??IT ONLY SHOWS HOW INTERESTED YOU ARE IN VISITING INSTEAD OF WORKING HARD WITH YOUR PEOPLE AT HOME!! TO SHAME YOU see what Israel PM said :”I’ll be going to Togo in West Africa in a few months”. THIS IS A SMALL WEST AFRICA COUNTRY THE SIZE OF LUAPULA PROVINCE WITH NOT MUCH TO WRITE HOME ABOUT in terms of natural resources endowments and democratic credentials. BUT ITS LEADER IS WELL FOCUSED ON TRANSFORMING THE COUNTRY,TODAY IT IS 2ND DYNAMIC COUNTRY IN WEST AFRICA! ADVANCING COUNTRIES ARE ATTRACTED TO SUCH-NOT UMUNGULU!!
Total madnes..
Reckless leadership by a chancer how has never achieved anything significant in his entire life. The man doesn’t seem to have got it all together up there. Something is just not right in his head. What’s the point of having a diplomatic mission if you can trust them to do their job? What a shame
This is what happens when you have no plan or agenda…no priorities…Zambia is not going ANYWHERE!!
This foo.lish President again embarrassing us! Of course we know that the entire Cabinet wanted to go and make some allowances and get free quality medical check ups….not to go and do anything productive.
Fake news by LT.
Should have taken the whole circus with him and never get to come back to Zambia, what a disgrace of a president!!
When we say upnd zealots are all under 5 this is what we mean. If you ever watched that clip were Ecl jokingly said about the entourage, that was a diplomatic way of saying we are pleased to be here. These upnd cretins takes it like everyone wanted to in isreal. You guys I pity you with the way you do your politics. If the Pf were to market OVAL HEAD he can be people’s favourite in a short time not the dogs full of vulgarity, the likes of @jayjay, nez, wanzele. All useless retards. You 1diots have contributed to OVAL HEAD failure to win elections.
You are embarrassing me, i just stole those votes, what’s the matter with you silly asi lad.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has asked President Lungu to help Israel regain its observer status at the African Union…
…
And these miscreants think Ben was wasting time by appealing to HE ECL to HELP? Bane mukafwa ku chikonko. You see I under standing your hurting, it really hurts to keep on failing/loosing with your HH OVAL HEAD the rejected piece of dung beetle!
Lungu seems to be enjoying his Medical Tourism while the 8 Ministers are enjoying their Tour and Travel Allowances. Nothing of benefit to the Zambian economy will come out of this trip. Its just a joy Ride in the Presidential Plane and a nice holidayfor the Ministers while the Zambian economy is financially bleeding. Cry the beloved Zambia.
Lazy has visited the tomb of White Jesus…he has asked for Jesus to come and assist Zambia to economic recovery!!
My all cabinet wanted to come with me,kikikikiki. Lets learn to be ashamed at times.
Zambia will benefit greatly from its ties with Israel. Israel is a leader in innovation, high tech, agriculture and security against terrorism. Welcome back friends!
Yaba .. irrelevant intro
Deeply rooted primitive behavior, these are the people who five years ago were only watching planes in the sky wondering how the plane looks like inside and now they have an opportunity to show case their bushman mentality. Can’t you be ashamed to portray bu mbuli to someone who is civilized and who considers your statement as rubbish? Already you are almost half your cabinet and all of you look like *****s which you are in front of the camera.
The Israelites stayed 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness. Maybe thats what the so called ministers wanted to see. The paths they used..
UPNDonkeys again, okay today this excludes Chilyata who has demonstrated a surprising amount of passionate Zambian patriotism above.
Love you Israel! Love you Mr. President! And don’t worry about haters and losers! Hazaluza Hagain with his negative attention-seekers!
Israel is a great nation! It takes revelation knowledge to know and understand where the President was coming from when he said these words! Losers will never appreciate or get it! They are like one party I know even if the President did the right thing but because he belonged to a different party (and any of them could have taken a similar stance) the party of naysayers would say No!!
Hazaluza wina Hagain! He is unelectable!