Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen have pledged to partner with the business community in Zambia to promote trade and investment between the two countries.

This came to light when an eight-member delegation of business executives from Bursa, one of Turkey’s industrial cities and manufacturing hubs, paid a courtesy call on Zambia’s Ambassador to Turkey, Joseph Chilengi in Ankara on Tuesday, September 15, 2020.

Delegation leader, Atilla Odunc, who is Bursa Member of Parliament (MP) and Chairperson of the Turkey-Zambia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, said the business community in Bursa under the umbrella of TURKSIAD, is keen in creating partnerships with the private sector in Zambia to help promote trade and investment between the two countries.

“We would like to use our strong manufacturing potential in Bursa and partner with the private sector in Zambia to help add value to Zambian raw materials so that we can create jobs and wealth for the peoples of our two countries,” Mr Odunc said.

TURKSIAD chairperson Berat Tunakan hoped that the interaction with the Zambian Mission in Ankara will help strengthen the existing strong relations between the two countries.

This is according to a press statement released to ZANIS on Thursday by First Secretary for Press Jerry Munthali at the Zambian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

Mr Tunakan said Bursa contributes US$6 billion per year in exports to the Turkish economy while imports stood at US$12 billion from economic activities such as textiles, motor vehicle manufacturing, tourism, and agriculture.

TURKSIAD which has a 430-membership of Balkan and Rumelian Industrialists and businessmen has planned to undertake a business mission to Zambia to explore trade and investment opportunities.

And Ambassador Chilengi called on the business community in Turkey and Zambia to find innovative ways to operate in the new normal amidst uncertainty as the war against the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Dr Chilengi told the Turkish business delegation that Zambia’s economic fundamentals remained strong and the country continues to be an investment destination of choice.

“I wish to state, with satisfaction, that the legal framework governing bilateral cooperation between the two countries is now in place following the signing of 12 agreements, most of which has since been ratified,” said Dr Chilengi.

Ambassador Chilengi said the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investment Agreement between the two countries was very important as it gives investment security for the business community from the two countries.

He encouraged the delegation to expeditiously actualise plans to undertake a trade and investment Mission to Zambia to explore existing trade and investment opportunities and engage various captains of industry in Zambia

Meanwhile, TURSIAD has donated 20,000 medical masks to Zambia to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking when he handed over the consignment to Ambassador Chilengi, Mr Odunc said international solidarity was important in the fight against COVID-19 as the whole world was grappling with the pandemic.

And Dr Chilengi thanked the delegation for the kind gesture as it would supplement existing measures that the Government has put in place to limit the spread of the respiratory disease.

Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) has expressed worry that Mufuchani spring, a natural water recharge will be disrupted in Kitwe’s Mufuchani area where farmers have started demarcating their farms into residential areas.

WARMA Director General Kenneth Nyundu said if the farmers go ahead, there will be a challenge of sanitation and sewer disposal which will result into the pollution of the natural water source which supplies water into Kafue River and the surrounding farming community.

“The underground water table will also go down and the water source will be contaminated if more people are allowed to settle there through demarcation of the farms into residential plots,” he observed.

He also noted that the move would also affect Vital Beverages Limited, a company that is bottling water from the same spring.

Mr. Nyundu said there is need to protect natural waters sources for the good of the current and future generations.

He said the Authority will engage Kitwe City Council to explain why the area should be maintained as a farming area.

He also explained that the Authority will also sensitize the farmers on the repercussions of turning the area into a residential area.

And Kitwe City Council Water Coordinator Aaron Banda said over 15 farm owners from Mufuchani area have applied to the council for change of usage for their farms from Framing into residential plots.

Mr. Banda explained that the council has however not approved the applications.

“The farmers have applied that their farms be turned into residential plots but the official position of the council is to maintain the land as farms,” he explained.

Over fifteen farmers in Kitwe’s Mufuchani area are demarcating their farms covering over 150 hectares which they are selling as residential plots a move that is likely to lead to the drying of Mufuchani Spring which flows into Kafue River and supplies water to the surrounding farming Community and Vital Beverages Limited.

The United Kingdom government has pledged support to Zambia in the conservation and protection of natural assets.

British Commissioner to Zambia Nicholas Woolley says caring for the world’s biodiversity, mitigating the global impacts of climate change is one of the UK’s government priorities in Zambia.

“Protecting the world’s biodiversity, mitigating the global impacts of climate change, and here in Zambia working to conserve natural resources and wildlife are all strong priorities of the UK Government and our mission here in Lusaka,” said Mr. Woolley.

He said despite the challenges faced in protecting natural assets in a country as large and diverse as Zambia, the UK has pioneered conservation partnerships and have a strong belief in their potential to strengthen practices in Zambia.

He explained that this partnership between Game Rangers International and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife has potential to put the Lusaka National Park firmly on the map as a destination for both domestic and international tourists.

“More broadly, tourism has the potential to be a real driver of job creation and associated services in the coming years. As the British High Commissioner I’m proud that the UK, through Prospero Limited is helping to develop further partnerships like this and help create more jobs and economic opportunities for Zambian people and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the process,” he added.

The High Commissioner noted that for this to be achieved there is need to strengthen the offer to tourists, and also increase the amount of domestic tourism, making valuable assets like Lusaka National Park more accessible to Zambians among others.

Mr. Woolley stated that there is also need to expose children to the various tourism potential sites in the country through conservation education potential in this partnership

“recognizing that it is the children of today that hold greatest potential for a shift in mindset around climate change and wildlife conservation we are delighted to see the conservation education potential in this partnership and ensuring that the beauty of the Zambian natural world is not hidden from eyes of Zambia’s children but something they can take pleasure and learnt to protect from an early age,” he said.

He further described the Lusaka National Park as a place that can offer the best tourism services within the city.

“My own personal experience of Lusaka National Park is that it is a place of solitude and beauty, providing a unique experience within the city limits of Lusaka, an ever-increasing tree canopy cover and diversity of plants and wildlife,” he said.

He has since called for the protection of the place by all Zambians, adding that the UK’s support to the Conservation Education Centre is a first step towards developing the true potential of this park, to promote conservation, biodiversity, education, and job creation through the growth of domestic and international tourism.