Zambia’s first National Economic Summit to give impetus to Vision 2030: Expert

In the era of business globalization, economic diplomacy has become a vital tool to secure investment opportunities via bilateral and multilateral trade cooperation. Livingstone, a town in Zambia, is going witness a throng of business executives including country’s Head of State, Edgar Lungu at a prestigious business event National Economic Summit in this month.

Under the leadership of President Edgar Lungu, Zambia is going to host its first National Economic Summit starting on July 25. The two-day event is expected to bring top business executives in Zambia and from abroad. This summit is the brainchild of the Economic Association of Zambia under the stewardship of association president Dr Lubinda Habazoka.

With an objective to make the National Economic Summit valuable and successful, the Economic Association of Zambia is working in association with DII Conference, Institute of Scientific Communications, Mulungushi University, Harvard University, California Baptist University CBU, Zambia Centre for Accounting Studies, University of Zambia, University of Johannesburg and London Business School. The summit will put together government officials, economists, opinion leaders, academicians, university students to deliberate economic issues of utmost importance to the growth of Zambia and the African continent in general. Over 500 from participants are expected to be part of this summit.

“We are expecting entrepreneurs and possible investors at the Economic Diplomacy summit. The response has been positively overwhelming it’s amazing how much interest Zambia apparently attracts both locally and abroad regarding business,” Dr Lubinda Habazoka said.

The theme of National Economic Summit is “The Future of Economic Diplomacy: Supporting Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa.” The summit will focus on the areas such as “structural policies and bilateral trade and Investment agreements,” “international organization and its role in the development process,” “economic diplomacy in Africa,” “regional integration and infrastructure,” “global dimension of growth & sustainability,” “economic integration and communication technology,” “institutional framework for inclusive economic growth,” “agriculture as a mean of economic diversification,” “financing for development,” “trade and investment,” “energy and industrialization,” “policy framework for growth,” “population, migration and urbanization” and “socio-economic development.”

There are several objectives of the National Economic Summit, but the main objective is to make a podium that indorses exchange of ideas and innovative thinking amid researchers, development practitioners and policymakers at every level, as elaborated by Association for Free Research and International Cooperation (AFRIC). The stakeholders at the Economic Association of Zambia strongly believe that this summit will give more push to work for Vision 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The summit is also expected to develop mechanisms to support the right use of locally made products in enhancing economic growth among other things.

On the other hand, the Economic Association of Zambia intends to showcase Zambia’s tourism potentials to the world. Zambia is always extolled for its natural beauties and Zambia’s tourist destination Livingstone is being opted for the summit where the famous Victoria Falls is located.

President Edgar Lungu is expected to grace the occasion and the media giants like Reuters, BBC and Bloomberg will be covering the event with the presence of local medias.

Also Read: FT Africa Summit 2019 – Efforts through roadmaps to unlock huge biz potential