Zambia inks a partnership with UK to support its green energy agenda

NAIROBI, Kenya - In a bid to grow its green energy sector, Zambia has inked a clean energy partnership with the UK.

This new partnership is part of the UK's green investment that includes funding up to £2.5 billion of UK private sector funding and up to £500 million in UK government-backed investments.

The agreement was reached during the first Foreign Secretary visit to Zambia in over 30 years, James Cleverly who also toured a copper mine and signed a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals

The UK will boost its commitment to a green economic partnership with Zambia today [3 August] as the Foreign Secretary sets out ambitious new targets to drive green investment.

The new targets will be delivered through the UK-Zambia Green Growth Compact, which aims to drive investment in Zambia’s green economy, strengthening the growing economic partnership between Zambia and the UK, tackling climate change, and creating jobs and new business opportunities in both countries.

Supporting the Foreign Secretary’s drive to prioritize future-focussed, mutually beneficial partnerships on his visit to Africa this week, these new targets include generating up to £2.5 billion of British private sector investment in Zambia’s mining, minerals, and renewable energy sectors, delivering up to £500 million of UK government-backed investments and mobilizing up to £150 million of private sector investment into small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). UK and Zambian firms will benefit from the commercial opportunities, growing the economy of both countries.

 The Foreign Secretary will also tour the Mimbula Copper Mine, where British firm Moxico Resources will invest an additional $210 million (around £164 million) of private sector funding to expand production at the site, increasing exports, and economic growth in both Zambia and the UK.

 James Cleverly will also sign a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals which will lay the foundation for further UK support for the responsible mining of copper, cobalt, and other metals essential to the global clean energy transition.

 Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

 Working together with our partners in Zambia, the UK is driving the clean energy transition. The UK-Zambia Green Growth Compact and our landmark agreement on critical minerals will support investment between UK and Zambian businesses, creating jobs in both countries and improving environmental and social standards.

Together we will build a stronger, greener, more prosperous future for both countries, which benefits us all.

More broadly, the Foreign Secretary will see how UK support is making a difference to communities across Zambia. In Ndola, close to Zambia’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, he will open a secondary school which is part of the UK-supported Promoting Equality in African Schools initiative and supports children to access high-quality secondary education.

At Kasengu Market, he will meet beneficiaries of the UK-funded Social Cash Transfer Programme to see first-hand the positive impact UK aid is having for those most in need in the country.

In Lusaka, he will discuss with President Hichilema and Foreign Minister Kakubo a wide range of issues relevant to the UK-Zambia partnership, including support for debt restructuring and IMF-backed reform program, regional security cooperation, and our joint desire for a fairer and more responsive international financial system.

 The Foreign Secretary’s visit to Zambia concludes a 3-country tour, where he boosted the UK’s future-focussed, mutually-beneficial partnerships with Nigeria and Ghana and reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to advance trade, investment, and green growth in Africa.

GAROWE ONLINE