Africa-Press – Zambia. In just four years under President Hakainde Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia has hosted an impressive array of high-profile visits from some of the world’s most influential leaders.
At the start of his presidency, opposition leaders accused President HH of abandoning Zambia’s long-standing tradition of non-alignment, a diplomatic philosophy rooted in the vision of the country’s founding President, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda. Critics argued that HH appeared to lean more towards the West Geopolitically, particularly during his frequent engagements with the West as he was working tirelessly to secure Zambia’s debt restructuring.
Eventually, his methodical and strategic approach later proved far more balanced, leaving his critics in suspense. After making significant progress on debt restructuring, President Hichilema expanded his focus eastward, strengthening ties with major Geopolitical Eastern powers, including China. His pragmatic diplomacy seemingly guided by national interest rather than ideology, has Seen Zambia welcome leaders from both East and West, effectively sponsoring some breezy of silence in the opposition camp on their earlier accusations of bias.
Just a few days ago, Zambia hosted the President of Israel, H.E. Isaac Herzog. Geopolitically, Israel is an ally of the west. Tomorrow, the country is set to welcome the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Li Qiang. To clarify, the Premier in China functions similarly to a Prime Minister in countries like the United Kingdom. He oversees government activities and policy implementation. His visit is particularly significant as Zambia seeks increased investment in critical sectors such as energy.
Over the past four years, Zambia has also received leaders and senior Government officials from globally influential nations, including the President of Germany, H.E. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the President of Italy, H.E. Sergio Mattarella.
Call them all you want, but these visits show the success of President HH’s methodical diplomacy, which has translated into notable increased investments in revitalizing the mining sector that was in the ICU as well as investments in fertilizer manufacturing for agriculture among others. Today we have industries opening up every now and then, with the only major challenge beeing loadshedding.
Knowing very well where we are coming from, five years ago, HH has managed to restore the global confidence in Zambia as a stable and strategic partner.
His Diplomatic Mingalato have today prompted renewed support from the United States, which has announced plans to restore previously cut grants to support Zambia’s healthcare sector.
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