Zambian Vice President Guy Scott met with Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Minister for External Affairs and International Development, at the Commonwealth Games Business Conference and encouraged the Scottish government to strengthen Zambia bilateral industry and trade relations with Scotland through increased investments.
Following their meeting, the Times of Zambia reports that Humza Yousaf confirmed an agreement between the two countries to strengthen their trade and industry relationship with a particular focus on the exportation of Scottish Whiskey and hopes to increase the Scotland’s footprint in the country by encouraging companies to take advantage of Zambia investment opportunities.
“I think we would love to explore the area of food and drink, especially that sea foods are popular in Southern Africa, as well as our Scottish Whiskey. But I hope our companies can appreciate the investment opportunities that Zambia offers,” said Hon. Yousaf, ““Of course I cannot dictate where companies invest but I was really impressed with the investment opportunities in Zambia and I would like to see them make that investment.”
According to a recent interview with ZANIS news, Vice President Scott said that, while the two countries already enjoyed friendly bilateral relations, the favorable Zambia investment climate provided numerous opportunities for Scotland to exploit.
Scotland established the Climate Justice Fund in 2011 in order to provide financial assistance to Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi will to help alleviate the effects of climate change.
According to the Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, who opened the conference, Zambia will benefit from between 400,000 and 500,000 in funds to increase the access to clean and safe drinking water, improve the country’s education system and help alleviate poverty in addition to addressing issue of political stability and encouraging sustainable development.
