We were highly honored last night to have participated in the BRICS Round Table discussion, co-chaired by His Excellency President Mr. Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of the Republic of South Africa, and His Excellency Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.
We expressed gratitude to both Presidents for inviting us to speak at the High-Level Dialogue with the theme “Promoting African Integration And Jointly Building A High-Level Africa-China Community with A Shared Future.” Furthermore, we commended BRICS for providing a platform for African Regional Blocks to discuss matters critical for enhancing South-South Cooperation.
The development models pursued by individual BRICS economies to emerge as ‘Emerging Developing Economies’ are valuable lessons that are worth reviewing.
We applauded the People’s Republic of China for being a valuable partner in supporting Africa’s development efforts. We reiterated Zambia’s commitment to the Africa-China partnership through FOCAC, both as a nation and as the Chairperson of COMESA.
Furthermore, we extended an invitation to the People’s Republic of China to increase support for the continental development agenda, especially in areas of infrastructure development, industrialization, modernizing production, particularly in agriculture, and capacity building of human resources.
Hakainde Hichilema,
President of the Republic of Zambia.