Sata invites Russian Investors
TIME PUBLISHED - Sunday, December 11, 2011, 9:42 pm
President Michael Sata has invited Russian government to send a business delegation to Zambia to explore various areas of investment. This was during a meeting at State House on Friday, December 9, 2011 when he met Mr Mikhail Margelov, the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Cooperation with African Countries.
Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations, George Chellah disclosed this in a media statement. Mr Margelov was in Zambia on a mission to promote of trade and cooperation between Russia and Zambia.
During the meeting, President Sata recognized the important role Russia played in the freedom struggle for African nationalism.
The President attributed the apparent quiet period in relations between Russia and African countries in the post Soviet-era to Russia’s need to attend to its own social challenges.
The Head of State noted that at independence, Zambia had less than 100 university graduates but this number increased soon after, through the many scholarships offered by the USSR.
President Sata identified agriculture, mining (copper and coal), civil engineering, oil exploration and tourism as critical areas where the two countries could cooperate.
He informed the Russian delegation that there were no facilities for producing gas in Zambia yet the country was rich in mineral reserves. The President said Zambia has underutilized its hydroelectricity generation potential.
The President invited Russia to send a business delegation to Zambia to explore various areas of investment.
In response, the Russian President’s Special Envoy said that Russia wanted to pursue pragmatic rather than ideological relations with African countries.
He introduced the CEO of Russia’s largest Gas Company (GAZPROM) which was interested in exploring areas for cooperation with Zambia.
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