President Edgar Lungu says the Zambian Government values the warm relations shared between Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the establishment of the diplomatic ties in 1982.

President Lungu also thanked the UAE Government for facilitating the opening of the Zambian Consulate in Dubai.

The Head of State was speaking today when he met the Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

President Lungu informed the Prime Minister on the numerous investment opportunities in Zambia.

However, the President said Zambia is faced with Challenges in the energy sector hence creating opportunities for investment.

And the Prime Minister acknowledged the visit by President Lungu and said that he is aware of the conducive environment for doing business in Zambia.

Later in the afternoon, President Lungu meet the President of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He noted that there is little trade between Dubai and Zambia.

And Chamber Chairperson, Majid Al Ghurair said the organisation is in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana and Kenya and would like to have presence in ZAMBIA.

Last night President LUNGU met the President of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

During the meeting, President Lungu said the UAE and Zambia must strive to conclude the negotiations on draft agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and investment protection.

The two leaders further agreed to cooperate in renewable energy with a focus on solar and wind technologies.

The UAE also offered Zambia scholarships in various specialised fields.

The two Leaders also agreed to assign agencies to cooperate and build capacities of Small and Medium Enterprises in Zambia with focus on women and youths.

This is according to a statement released to ZNBC News by Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Isaac Chipampe.

TopStar has recorded a 10 percent loss in business due to current load shedding being experienced countrywide.

TopStar Chief Executive Officer Liu Yingnan also disclosed that due to load shedding, operations cost has increased because the company is now running generator sets at all transmission sites.

Mr. Liu however says the company has introduced solar products loaded with a panel 24 HD TV, back up battery, 4 LED bulbs to ensure that households have access to television throughout the day.

He said this during a media breakfast in Lusaka today.

And Mr. Liu also thanked government and ZNBC for ensuring that the company achieves 100 percent digital television coverage.

The Centre for Trade Policy and Development has urged government to formalize the Artisanal and Small-Scale mining because it has the potential to reduce poverty levels in the Country.

The Centre has noted with concern that the sector has remained under-developed despite being an important source of employment for many youths.

CTPD Senior Researcher Extractives Webby Banda attributed this state of affairs to lack of finances which he said makes it difficult for the small -scale miners to access capital.

Mr. Banda also noted that due to the financial challenges, the sector lacks modern equipment and technology to efficiently exploit mineral resources.

‘’For example, the use of inadequate mining and mineral processing techniques in this form of mining leads to low productivity and recoveries of mineral values translating into low cash inflow. This means earnings are not retained to foster growth thereby holding the miner captive to a vicious poverty cycle. Other challenges faced by the ASM in Zambia include the lack of geological information, technical and management skills’’, Mr. Banda added.

He also observed that Mining laws in Zambia are heavily inclined to large scale commercial mines which are mostly dominated by multinational corporations to the neglect of ASM thereby inhibiting the growth of the sector.

Mr. Banda added that Bureaucratic and centralized licensing of mining rights has also prevented the participation of many people in small scale mining activities.

Mr. Banda also suggested that government should increases incentives in the Artisanal and Small-scale mining sector to foster growth.

He added in a statement issued by Communications Specialist Mwaka Nyimbili that there is need to make geological information readily available to small scale miners and render technological support in order to enhance their meaningful participation.

Food and Agriculture Organization Country Representative George Okech says the prevailing hunger situation in the country does not warrant the government to declare a national disaster.

Speaking during the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute breakfast meeting today, Mr. Okech said this is because all the indicators that FAO considers when declaring hunger as a crisis were in the positives.

He said if indeed Zambia was in a food crisis the Food Agriculture Organization would have been the first to call on the government of Zambia to declare so.

Mr. Okech said the Zambian government has shown commitment and capacity to provide food to the needy areas across the country with the help of cooperating partners.

He said from the Food Agriculture Organization’s perspective Zambia has enough capacity to control the food situation even before mid -next year.

Meanwhile IAPRI Executive Director Chance Kabaghe said there is need for government and cooperating partners to begin finding long lasting solution to the food situation in the country.

Mr. Kabaghe said with the continued good rainfall pattern being recorded in the northern parts of the country, there is need for government to concentrate agricultural energies to these areas so that they can produce for the need of all parts of the country

Meanwhile Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit Assistant Director Disaster Risk Management Lenganji Sikaona said the DMMU has enough food to supply all the affected areas.

Mr. Sikaona said the only challenge the unit is facing is how to transport the food stuff to affected areas due to impassable terrains.