President Hakainde Hichilema has reaffirmed Zambia’s commitment to deepening bilateral relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following a courtesy call from a high-level delegation led by Ms. Isabelle Kibassa Maliba, First Secretary-at-Large to His Excellency President Félix Tshisekedi.
The meeting underscored the strong historical, cultural, and linguistic bonds shared by communities living along the 1,900-kilometre border that unites the two nations. President Hichilema emphasized the need to harness these ties in order to foster structured trade and peaceful coexistence.
“With our nations bound not only by geography but by shared heritage, the path forward must include harmonized border regulations and deeper regional integration,” President Hichilema stated. He added that as members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Zambia and the DRC must prioritize seamless cross-border trade through aligned customs and regulatory frameworks.
The President also highlighted the strategic importance of establishing direct flights between Lusaka, Kinshasa, and other major cities. “Improved air connectivity will be a vital enabler of expanded trade, tourism, and cultural exchange,” he said, noting that such measures would strengthen economic cooperation and people-to-people ties.
The visit by Ms. Kibassa Maliba signals a continued commitment by both nations to bolster diplomatic and economic relations in line with regional development goals.
Salute, refreshing news and progress. This is impressive and the best leadership. Please sustain and lets do more with the Democratic Republic because of the various positives and we should overlook the exaggerated negatives and focus on the ball and revenue growth and abundant market. Afrikaconnector would like to be part of the trade engagement to amplify intra Zambia trade by placing our products and services online
Just a question pls IS there such a thing as low or medium level delegation ??
Hopefully they not seeking help with their problems, then the rest will follow Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe all having internal issues
I think she’s more a special envoy..and also a bit of translation issue.
Maybe we can negotiate for power imports from DRC, because ZESCO should have restored power at 15hrs today but it’s now after 22hrs and there is nothing.