Luanda - Business volume between Angola and Zambia reached around US$18.5 million in the last five years, Zambian minister of Commerce and Industry Chipoka Mulenga said on Tuesday in Luanda.
Addressing Angola and Zambia Business Forum, the minister said his country exported USD 14.5 million to Angola.
He added that during the said period, Angola exported USD 4 million to Zambia, well below the reality of the two countries, when compared to their potential.
On the basis of the trade balance deficit between the two countries, he pointed out the lack of road and rail infrastructure connections, a situation aggravated by the absence of markets at border checkpoints.
In turn, the Angolan counterpart, Victor Fernandes, reiterated the need to go beyond the existing potential and start taking advantage of the existing opportunities, in order to achieve tangible results".
In this way, he challenged the private sector to perform, increasingly better, the role of investment promoter, in order to achieve the established goals.
"Each of us has a role to play in changing the current state of affairs," he urged.
The Angola and Zambia Business Forum, held by the Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX), in partnership with the Development Agency (ZDA) of Zambia, took place under the motto "Business opportunities and new private partnerships to strengthen bilateral cooperation".
The event, in which Zambian and Angolan businessmen took part, aimed at strengthening new partnerships between businessmen from both countries, in different sectors, as well as strengthening ties between the two similar institutions (AIPEX and ZDA).
