Republican President Edgar Lungu has arrived in Paris for an official visit.
President Lungu ‘s plane touched down at Charles De Gaulle Airport at 15: 05 hours local time.
The President was accompanied by First Lady Esther Lungu, Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba, Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda, Special Assistant for Political Affairs Kaizer Zulu, and other senior government officials and Patriotic Front Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri.
Immediately upon arrival, President Lungu proceeded to Place De La Republic to lay wreaths in wreaths in solidarity to the victims of the terrorist attacks on January 7, 2015 and November 15, 2015, respectively.
He was welcomed at the Charles De Gaulle Airport by Zambian Ambassador to France Humphrey Chibanda, France’s Ambassador to Zambia Emmanuel Cohel and Dr Fackson Banda on behalf of the Zambian community.
Meanwhile, PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has described his tour of duty in Italy as fruitful, and his visit to the Vatican as spiritually invigorating.
Mr Lungu told Zambian journalists after touring St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican yesterday that his visit here had been successful.
During his visit, the Head of State held meetings with International Fund for Agricultural Development president Kanayo Nwanze and Food and Agriculture Organisation director-general, José Graziano da Silva where he discussed wide-ranging issues regarding Zambia’s diversification programme.
The President, who was in the company of First Lady Esther Lungu, Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba, Zambia’s Ambassador to Italy Gertrude Mwape, Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Muyeba Chikonde, and other Government officials, arrived at St Peter’s Basilica at 09:00 hours, local time.
He was taken on a conducted tour of the magnificent structure by a Vatican official only identified as Marco for about one hour.
St Peter’s Basilica, the world’s largest church, is regarded as the centre of Christianity, and the picturesque structure was built over a span of more than 100 years by the greatest Italian architects of the era.
The church is built on Vatican Hill, across the Tiber River from the historic centre of Rome, at the location which is highly symbolic and attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe.
According to the tour guide, that was the site where St Peter, the chief apostle, died a martyr and where he was buried in 64 AD.
The highly impressive building has a 211.5 metre long nave, and the basilica’s dome is one of the world’s largest, measuring 42 metres in diameter and 132.5 metres high.
“This tour has been highly revealing and I am sure it has renewed our spiritual lives. My meeting with the Pope was special,” Mr Lungu said.
The President later left for Paris, France, where he is scheduled to witness the signing of three agreements.
Mr Lungu, who departed Rome at 12:55 hours local time, was seen off at Fiumicino International Airport in Rome by Mr Kalaba, Ms Mwape, and Mr Chikonde.
The Foreign Affairs minister told journalists that the agreements to be signed in Paris included one between Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation and France 24, and another one between the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the French unit.
He was confident that the President’s business visits to Italy and France would benefit the Zambian people.
Mr Kalaba said the Holy See and his ministry had agreed to meet in April at the Vatican to form a joint permanent commission.
My only concern since he got on the plane from Zambia is the amount of money that has to be spent for all these trips together with his. I feel sad!
Baka is killing people in Nigeria like flies in their thousands no African leader have ever gone to that country and paid their respects or even Kenya yet you have this useless clueless bum making a bee line to lay wreaths!!
*With his entourage
imagine, thousands are dieing in africa and yet we dont honor or pay respects yet, in paris you want to honor a handful deaths. this is ignorance at its best. The african has been conditioned to love respect, adore, praise, worship, give allegiance to everyone else but themselves. Come on ndume na nkashi shandi, let us love ourselves more. Be proud to be african. We are a great people and we can be great again as before if only we come back into our right frame of mind. And to do that, we have to get in touch with ourselves. Just dig deep into yourself and our ancestors will help you remember who you are. Remember mansa musa, Prester John – these were rich kings who didnt go globe trotting begging;great leaders like Sankara, Patrice Lumumba, Nat turner – proud of being african
@JayJay, kekekeke awe mwe… animals are not equal.
MY BROTHER, YOU HAVE TO SPEND MONEY IN ORDER TO MAKE MONEY. YOU ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO WERE CONDEMNING THE LATE SATA FOR NOT HAVING BEEN TRAVELING ALTHOUGH HE MEANT SAVING MONEY. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TODAY? BA UPND YOU ARE ALL JUST LIKE YOUR LEADER WITH FACKED UP HEADS. THOS TRIPS ARE PROFITABLE IN THE SHORT AND LONG RUN. THEREFORE VERY NECESSARY.
I would have loved to see him in the company of the French president.
What a **** you are …its this SELFSAME slave mentality that will take us NOWHERE!!
So imwe you are at st peters square and all you see is the beauty as told you? Did you look around or even question why the dome shape of the basilica? why there is an Obelisk stolen from egypt or Kemet right in the centre? why its called a square when it is circular? why there is a pine cone at this same square? You have to know who you are fellow africans? then you will understand the church and all its madness. Its right in your face and yet you dont see. Imwe with your ignorant chaps like kaizer chikulu mwalanda ati,”mwaice twalyenda, twali pa vatican.” Sad state of affairs. Ancient african proverb says: “Man know thyself.”
We need to educate our people especially the young ones about self…its paramount I will die trying..then we will truly emancipate ourselves from mental slavery!!
Here is our dull ill informed utterly lazy BUM Edgar very quick to lay wreaths…oblivious to the history of this nation on black Africans and nations who still deposit a percentage of their reserves in the French Treasury…this is country that has crippled Haiti to this very day;its legacy of debt began shortly after gaining independence from France in 1804. In 1825, France, with warships at the ready, demanded Haiti compensate France for its loss of men and slave colony. In exchange for French recognition of Haiti as a sovereign republic, France demanded payment of 150 million francs (modern equivalent of $21 billion).In 1838, France agreed to reduce the debt to 90 million francs to be paid over a period of 30 years to compensate former plantation owners who had lost their property…
…and you have these African leaders like this bum Edgar kissing up to these devils like those Africans on social media who change their profile.
Thats right jay – These same french b.astar.ds that tricked Toussaint Louverture the haitian general into going to france to have peace talks with them kanshi it was a trap. The man died in a dundgeon where food was dropped down to him in a dark damp place as though they were feeding a rat. This man who was the governor general of Haiti treated like a mere thief. No courtesy from these people. The mistake we make as africans/blacks is that we treat others with the humanity we would expect for ourselves if not more. Umusungu temunobe!!!!
@Jayjay.
LOL. I can’t believe you are serious. Clearly, you don’t even understand the origins of tribal cousin-ship in our Country. The injustices tribes did to each other. Your zone of ignorance is huge. Understand this: – Forgiveness is a virtue. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
In Zambia, just as we, by and large, overcame tribalism by turning tribal adversaries into tribal cousins and integrated, we now are on our way into racial integration with the new legislature on citizenship. To advocate for racism, and all that trash in this day and age, in a Country that has moved forward and now wholly embraces Dual Citizenship is being completely lost, and quite frankly, insulting to Zambians of mixed, or different race.
But why is the african the one who always has to forgive to get along? The black americans forgave the attrocities done them through slavery, mandela forgave the whites,africa in general forgave the europeans for colonialism,slavery by not demanding reparations and compensation. But when the so called european jew was persecuted in Germany,there was no forgiveness.Ever heard of the nuremburgh trials,the millions of dollars give to israel as reparations? And when these sons and daughters of africa remember and address the injustices you say forgive and forget. Are our people any less of humans than the european or asian. Stand tall black man
Indeed, it was France that instgated the murder of gaddafi. They cornered and bombed his mortcade so the islamists could kill him. Now Libya is at the abesse they stand aside bewildered.
@ Jay Jay you are a joker my poor brother. Honestly who can listen to such vulgarity of comments from you. I don’t even finish reading your comments and you say you will die trying to educate people. Kikiki educating them with insults maybe. You are too vulgar and full of hate you full. Try to tone down maybe people will take you seriously.
I CONCUR WITH JAYJAY – tuli ba Kuwe, ku ba buta inkanda!! I don’t blame them – we just happen to SUFFER THIS HUGE INFERIORITY COMPLEX – Lazy bum, devil ARE NOT INSULTS they are descriptions!! If you are offended, hard luck – Jay Jay at least is teaching you some history becoz he sat on His NOT SO LAZY BUM to research & share it with you – DO NOT BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND!!
I CONCUR WITH JAYJAY – tuli ba Kuwe, ku ba buta inkanda!! I don’t blame them – we just happen to SUFFER THIS HUGE INFERIORITY COMPLEX – Lazy bum, devil ARE NOT INSULTS they are descriptions!! If you are offended, hard luck – Jay Jay at least is teaching you some history becoz he sat on His NOT SO LAZY BUM to research & share it with you – DO NOT BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND!!
every govn z gud why complaining?