Angola and Zambian businesspeople plan to strengthen raw material trade cooperation to bolster commercial relations between the two countries.
The intention was disclosed Wednesday by the head of the Zambian Development Agency, Obby Banda, during a visit to the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE).
Banda said there were still specific opportunities to complement several value chains with Angola.
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He revealed that on visiting the Pasta Factory, the delegation realised that Angola has little raw material. He explained that Zambia produces wheat on a large scale, but it does not have a factory that produces pasta.
Mr Banda stressed that Angolans can also invest in this sector, completing the value chain, as a way of increasingly strengthening business.
He went on to explain the Zambian delegation is specifically looking for business opportunities, in ways to increase relations between Angola and Zambia, adding that Angola has great natural resources potential and a market that captures the interest of Zambian entrepreneurs.
To Mr Banda, the ZEE is a regional and inter-regional zone that can be used to do business, and the proximity of the borders between the two countries facilitates trade.
The Executive Director of ZEE, Carla Silvestre, on her turn, said the institution is committed to seeking private investment (national and foreign) to improve the country’s industrialization process and the diversification of the economy.
Ms Silvestre said the ZEE has benefited from government actions, which had implemented a number of economic and social reforms to reduce the Angolan economy’s excessive dependence on the oil sector.
She then stressed that as part of the strategy to attract investors and internationalise the Angolan economy, the ZEE has joined the SADC Free Trade Zone process to make it able to meet the challenges of the region.
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The Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE) was set up in 2009, with the aim of contributing to the promotion of national production, job creation and diversification of the Angolan economy.
The group of Zambian businesspeople that visited the ZEE is accompanying the President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, on an official visit to Angola.
