Desh Bandu Basnet

Situated in the south-central part of the continent of Africa, Zambia is a landlocked country, sharing its border with Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Angola.

The bilateral relations between the Zambia and Nepal date back to as early as 1970, when the then king Mahendra visited Zambia to attend the third NAM summit. The two nations established diplomatic relations on 10th September, 1986. Ever since then, they have co-existed peacefully, maintaining friendship and cooperation.

Zambia has had a stable government since 1991. The transfer of political power has been conducted through multi-party elections and unlike some of its neighbors; it has not experienced coups, civil wars, or prolonged misgovernance.

Nepal follows the same system of politics as well ever since adopting the status of a federal democratic country in 2008. Despite not having a formal embassy in either country, the embassy of Nepal in Pretoria of South Africa, is concurrently accredited to Zambia while the embassy of Zambia in New Delhi is concurrently accredited to Nepal.

Common stances

Both Nepal and Zambia are classified as least developed countries (LDC). They are also landlocked nations, because of which, they share common views and hold similar stances when it comes to prospects of development including trade and tourism. The two nations also share multiple agendas regarding global development, cooperation and partnership.

As members of the United Nations (UN), they share values of legitimacy, respect for diversity and peaceful prosperity. Building on the value of burden sharing, both the countries have been contributing to multiple global UN peacekeeping operations with Nepal sending 5,571 active troops and Zambia sending 988 troops each as of May 2021. Zambia has been a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 1st January, 1995.

Nepal joined the WTO almost a decade later on 23rd April, 2004, but since then, it has been an active member.

WTO aids in a liberalised manner of trade between involved nations. However, despite both Nepal and Zambia being members of WTO, there has barely been any bilateral trade occurrence between the two nations.

The countries owe this till some extent to the landlocked nature of both of them and the fact that they fall under two different continents. Nevertheless, prospects of economic relationship through trade are prominent for the two nations by utilising WTO’s legal ground-rules for international commerce. 

The two nations are primarily agricultural in nature, with the sector contributing 28 per cent and 20 per cent to the gross domestic product of Nepal and Zambia, respectively.

Zambia has a profitable opportunity in irrigation farming potential and agro-business with the Zambian government having prioritised horticultural and floricultural crops.

The climate and land arability of Zambia lets crops like cotton, flower, coffee, tobacco, sugarcane, pineapples, cashew nuts, cassava as well as others to flourish here with the capability for it to be used commercially as well as in abundance, enough for it to be exported as well.

The climatic difference between Nepal and Zambia is favourable for agri-trade between the two nations.

Nepal imports coffee from India and fruits like avocados from Kenya. Zambia farms coffee and avocados commercially available for export.

This can be a trading opportunity for Nepal and Zambia which can further support more import and export between the two countries, boosting their economies.

Geographically, Zambia is one of the most water rich countries in Africa with huge rivers cascading it, most notably, the Zambezi river.

The rivers descend from plateaus into rifted through which provide great opportunity for hydropower. Despite this, Zambia lacks mechanised irrigation systems. Although efforts have been made to extend the national grid in order to provide electricity, Zambia falls short.

In the past, Nepal used to face similar problems in this sector, but the country has now increased the electricity production.

The two nations should discuss the shortcomings and methods of amplifying electricity. By doing so, FDI could also be diverted into improving this system which would help industries to flourish better and aid in overall economic development as well.

Trade, commerce and promotion of tourism are yet to be explored and tapped into between the two countries. Zambia holds a vast reserve of copper and cobalt with almost six per cent of the world’s copper reserve lying there.

It also boasts the second-largest deposit of the worlds’ most prime emeralds, comprising 20 per cent of the world supply. Apart from these, Zambian mines also hold amethyst, aquamarine, gold, and diamonds. With such dominant reserves, the mining sectors in Zambia offer real potential for growth and further expansion and Nepal can explore possible avenues for cooperation in this sector. 
Trade prospects

The trade between Nepal and Zambia has been minimal with it being inclined to the former’s favour as Nepal exports more to Zambia than the other way around. However, with abundance of minerals and ores, Zambia could seek prospect in this sector as well. There is a higher prospect for collaboration in tourism between the two nations.

Zambia is a home to vast natural resources. Hosting the famous Victoria Falls; a notable UNESCO World Heritage Site, Zambia has several other national parks that are ecologically varied. With a diverse range of wilderness and wildlife, scenic beauty, adventure activities, diverse culture, and national heritage, the country provides something for everyone. Zambia also has one of the largest wildlife estates with wildlife protected areas occupying 40 per cent of the country’s land that are open for tourists.

The thrill offered by African safaris is unmatched because of which more people are seeking it as a tourist option.

Zambia offers a wide variety of animals and birds that are quite different from what are present in Nepal.

Currently, most safari seekers limit an option to that of Kenya but Zambia has a wider and more unexplored wildlife option to offer. With diverse wildlife species ranging from lions to zebras to giraffes, Zambian safari can be a unique experience for Nepali tourists.

(Basnet is the Honorary Consul of Zambia in Nepal, Executive Committee Member of FNCCI and Chairperson of Binational & NRN Coordination Forum. mail@zambiaconsulate.org.np)