Hichilema Heads to UAE as Zambia Deepens Middle East Economic Ties Under Grow Zambia Agenda
Hichilema Heads to UAE as Zambia Deepens Middle East Economic Ties Under Grow Zambia Agenda
By George N. Mtonga, MBA
President Hakainde Hichilema will undertake a working visit to the United Arab Emirates from 29 to 30 September 2026, with investment, trade and economic diplomacy expected to dominate discussions.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the visit follows an invitation from UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two leaders are expected to hold bilateral talks and oversee the signing of Memoranda of Understanding aimed at expanding cooperation between Zambia and the UAE.
The programme also includes a Zambia-UAE Business and Investment Forum, meetings with UAE business leaders and engagement with the Zambian community.
The visit comes as Zambia increasingly positions economic diplomacy as an instrument of its Grow Zambia Agenda. President Hichilema has directed Zambia’s diplomatic missions to actively promote investment, trade and economic opportunities, with an emphasis on producing measurable economic results.
Middle East Capital Meets Zambia’s Growth Ambitions
The sectors identified for engagement with the UAE — mining and mineral value addition, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, transport and logistics, tourism and healthcare — are closely connected to Zambia’s broader growth programme.
This presents significant scope for deeper economic relationships between Zambia and the UAE, as well as other Middle Eastern economies with substantial pools of capital and experience investing internationally in infrastructure, energy, logistics, agriculture and tourism.
For Zambia, the opportunity is to convert these relationships into productive investment.
Capital directed toward electricity generation can support Zambia’s energy expansion. Investment in mining can increase production while supporting mineral processing and value addition inside Zambia. Agricultural investment can strengthen irrigation, storage, processing and exports, while investment in tourism, aviation and hospitality can expand Zambia’s capacity to attract international visitors.
Zambia and the UAE already have a foundation on which to build. Earlier this year, the two governments discussed expanding cooperation across areas aligned with their development priorities, with the UAE expressing support for productive development partnerships with Zambia.
Economic Diplomacy Must Produce Results
The greater opportunity is for Zambia to develop stronger commercial relationships across the wider Middle East.
Zambia brings minerals, agricultural potential, energy resources and access to regional African markets. Middle Eastern economies bring capital, technology, logistics networks and access to major global markets. These characteristics create areas of economic complementarity.
The key measurement, however, will be implementation.
Memoranda of Understanding should ultimately translate into investments, factories, megawatts, exports, jobs and increased production.
That is where this UAE visit connects most directly with the Grow Zambia Agenda. Zambia’s foreign policy is increasingly being framed around economic diplomacy and measurable development outcomes, with government officials emphasizing investment, jobs and improved livelihoods.
President Hichilema’s visit therefore provides another opportunity to deepen Zambia’s economic relationship with the UAE while demonstrating the potential for broader engagement between Zambia and the Middle East.
For the Grow Zambia Agenda, the important question will be how effectively those international relationships are converted into productive assets and economic opportunities at home.
