Zambia set to host Japanese business delegation seeking to explore opportunities in mining sector

Ten Japanese companies are expected in Zambia this month to explore opportunities in the mining sector, authorities have revealed.

The ten companies would be accompanied by the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Yasutoshi Nishimura, Zambia’s Ambassador to Japan, Tobias Mulimbika, said.

First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Mission in Japan, Faith Chilube, in a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday said Mulumbika revealed this during a courtesy call on Nishimura in that country.

He said the delegation would include officials from the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), International Affairs Division Metals Strategy Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Mineral and Natural Resources.

“The investment mission will be attended by officials from the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development (MMMD) and Commerce, Trade and Industry as well as stakeholders from the Zambia Chamber of Mines and the private sector,” Mulimbika said.

He added that the delegates would also participate in a roundtable business meeting from August 6 to August 11, 2023 in Lusaka.

Mulimbika expressed gratitude for the cooperation between the two countries that dates back to 1964.

At the same meeting, Nishimura said the Japanese government was committed to deepening the bilateral cooperation that existed between the two countries through investment in the mining sector in Zambia.

Nishimura said Zambia’s political dispensation as a democratic country, with a stable political environment, guaranteed returns for investment.

“Japanese private companies were more than willing to partner with the Zambian government and establish their businesses in Zambia,” he said.

Nishimura explained that Zambia was important to Japan owing to its abundant critical mineral endowment.

“Japanese investment would have a positive trickle-down effect such as capacity building and technological transfer to the local people,” he said.

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