Hauptinhalt
Zambia
Last updated in September 2012
Political relations
The Federal Republic of Germany has maintained friendly relations with Zambia since it gained independence on 24 October 1964. Zambia is one of the partner countries of German development cooperation.
There are regular visits to Zambia by German business delegations, the most recent ones being in May and June 2011.
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel visited Zambia from 9 to 11 December 2010. He was accompanied by a high-ranking delegation and visited a number of projects being funded as part of German development cooperation with Zambia. During his visit, Minister Niebel opened the German-Zambian Business Information Office in Lusaka. The Federal Chancellor’s G8 Personal Representative for Africa, Günter Nooke, visited Zambia from 13 to 15 October 2011 to attend the inauguration of President Sata. Zambian Foreign Minister Given Lubinda visited Berlin in March 2012, meeting with Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle, among others. The German Bundestag’s Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the SADC States (SADC = Southern African Development Community) visited Zambia from 16 to 20 April 2012. The thematic focus of the trip was domestic developments in Zambia since the September 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections. The delegation also gathered information on bilateral development cooperation.
Economic relations
In 2011, German imports from Zambia were worth a total of EUR 36.7 million. In the same year, German exports to Zambia totalled approximately EUR 45.5 million. In Zambia, there is keen interest in and a high regard for German products, particularly motor vehicles, mechanical engineering and chemical products. The following bilateral economic agreements are in place:
- Agreement of 10 December 1966 on the promotion and mutual protection of investments
- Double taxation agreement of 30 May 1975
- Air transport agreement of 22 October 1996
Development cooperation
Zambia is a partner country of German development cooperation. The principal objectives of German-Zambian cooperation are reducing poverty, developing good governance and improving overall social and political conditions. As part of bilateral development cooperation, in late November 2011 Germany pledged EUR 74 million in new funding for Financial and Technical Cooperation projects for the period 2011-2013. A further commitment of EUR 8 million was made from the Energy and Climate Fund for climate-related measures in the water sector. Development cooperation focuses on two areas:
- water and sanitation
- good governance including the components: a) decentralization and local governance, b) citizen participation in reform processes and poverty reduction, c) good financial governance
Additional funding is provided for the cross-cutting sectors gender equality, environmental and resource protection and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Since 2007, Zambia also receives general budget support, which Germany provides together with other donors to help implement Zambia’s national development strategy.
In addition, the German Federal Government supports the work of several NGOs in Zambia as well as that of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which has its own office in Lusaka and is conducting a number of socio-political measures in Zambia.
Cultural relations
Germany’s cultural cooperation with Zambia focuses on the following areas:
- expanding German instruction
- sport (short- and long-term coaches, donations of equipment and the organization of youth football tournaments); a long-term coach for track and field athletics has been seconded to Zambia since July 2012
- information trips to and further-training measures in Germany for representatives of Zambia’s political, cultural and media sectors.