President Hichilema Salutes Egypts High Tech Advancement

President Hakainde Hichilema has called for strengthened bilateral cooperation between Zambia and the Arab Republic of Egypt in many spheres of economic development.President Hichilema has also noted that Egypt is a leading State in high-tech advances on the continent, especially in the area of water harvesting.

President Hichilema further cited agriculture, water management, health and technological research as areas that Zambia wants to learn more from Egypt.

The Head of State was speaking when outgoing Egyptian Ambassador to Zambia, Moataz Anwar paid a farewell courtesy call on him at State House in Lusaka.

President Hichilema indicated that the credentials of Egypt on the economic front and technological research is impeccable.
“We are working towards deepening our partnership so that we can learn more from each other, “President Hichilema stated.
President Hichilema said Zambia is keen to learn how Egypt has managed to utilise water as a scarce resource prudently as the country has managed to move water to where it is needed for human consumption and industrialization.

President Hichilema stressed that there is also a need to exchange knowledge in the agriculture sector which is critical to Zambia’s ability to develop the sub-division.

The Head of State said it was admirable how Egypt has managed to efficiently utilize water to produce more crops and citrus fruits.
“Looking at what you have been able to do using the limited water that you have is admirable, your ability to produce so much crops, wheat and many other things that you are able to produce, citrus fruits with all these challenges. We have a lot to learn from Egypt and the way of doing things,” He said.
“Precision agriculture, I talk about this during cabinet meetings every now and then to my colleagues that we need to learn from Egypt on how to utilize this scarce resource called water, this is an area that we need to expand more because of climate change, we had a lot of rains over the years but this year we have had the waste drought in the living memory, we can only do better by deepening our cooperation in the area of water management.” He stated.
Meanwhile, President Hichilema has urged the outgoing Egyptian Ambassador to encourage firms in his country to invest in Zambia.

President Hichilema suggested that Egyptian construction companies must come to Zambia and invest in Public Private Partnership programmes.
The Head of State disclosed that the current model of PPP being applied in Zambia was picked from Egypt.
“As you go back to the headquarters, we want to deepen and broaden cooperation in the area of PPPs, apart from road infrastructure, we must look at other areas such as water harvesting, we want water harvesting as soon as possible.”
President Hichilema wished Mr Anwar good endeavors as he takes up a new role back home and thanked him for working well with the Zambian government.
Meanwhile, the outgoing, Egyptian Ambassador thanked President Hichilema and the Zambian people for hosting him well while in Zambia.

Mr Anwar commended President Hichilema for delivering to the expectations of Zambians.
The outgoing Ambassador explained that during his tour of duty as a diplomat, he has seen the development that the government has achieved since its assuming office.
“This government has lived up to the expectations of the Zambian people, I have seen the progress that you have achieved as a diplomat in Zambia.” He pointed.
He informed the Head of State that currently the two countries are working at bringing medical doctors to Zambia who are specialised in the field of kidney transplants, open heart surgeries and neurology.
Mr Anwar said once the process is actualized, it will help in fostering strong relations between Zambia and Egypt.
The outgoing Ambassador also disclosed that the Egyptian government is working with the Zambian team in finalizing President Hichilema’s visit to Egypt.
“We are currently assessing conducive dates at which you can visit Egypt,”he said.
ZANIS