Govt bemoans Trade imbalance between Israel and Zambia

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister, Chipoka Mulenga has bemoaned the trade imbalance between Israel and Zambia.

Trade volumes between the two countries are less than 10 million dollars in favour of Israel.

Mr Mulenga has since stressed the need to come up with measures that will help seal the current trade gap that exists between Zambia and Israel.

He says currently, Zambia’s trade balance in terms of export stands at three million dollars which requires improvement with concerted efforts from both countries.

Speaking at the Israel-Zambia Economic Conference in Lusaka today, Mr. Mulenga says with the skilful youthful population, coupled with Zambia’s resources, it will be mutually beneficial if companies from Israel invest in the Country.

Mr. Mulenga has assured the Israelis that Zambia has laws that protect the interest of investors, encouraging Israeli investors to put Zambia high on the map of investment.

The Minister has also challenged the private sector in Zambia to be innovative and take advantage of different business opportunities being created by different countries that are expressing interest to invest in Zambia.

And Israeli Ambassador to Zambia, Ofra Farhi says her government is prepared to scale up its investment in Africa, and that Zambia is one of the countries Israel wants to do business with. 

Ms. Farhi says Israel and Zambia share a long history of bilateral connection in various fields including the economic field.