A Parliamentary delegation from Zambia led by Rt. Hon Nelly Butete Kashumba Mutti called on the Vice President of India, Hon. Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, yesterday, February 3, 2023.

In welcoming the Zambian delegation, Hon. Shri Dhankhar said the team had visited India at a perfect time when it the country was not only celebrating 75 years of independence but economic emancipation as well. 

He said India, in its long history, had never invaded or tried to conquer another country and that through hard work and sound economic policies, it has managed to move from being the 10th largest economy in the world to the 5th largest economy, within eight years, overtaking the United Kingdom in the process. 

He said India was positioning itself to move a notch higher by the end of this year to be in the top four brackets in the world. 

He said at global level, India has shown unity due to the fact that being in a global village, countries were interdependentand that this is the reason after getting the G20 presidency, the country came up with a unifying theme, 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'.

He noted that the world was facing unprecedented crisis of food, fuel and fertilizer and that the most acute impact of this is felt in Global South. He said as a result, India will endeavour to utilize its G20 presidency to give resonance to the voice of the Global South.

He said India has demonstrated that through unity, the world could achieve more when it offered vaccines to other countries when COVID ravaged the world as well as taking a leading role in the fight against climate change. 

He also said in the area of Information Technology, India has given more impetus to more internet connectivity in villages which is the new phenomenon it is using to bring meaning to the Global Village. 

He said India had been a long-time supporter of nuclear disarmament and promotion of global peace and that it still stands for its push for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. 

And Ms. Mutti says Zambia is learning a lot from India because it has not withheld its achievement and its intention to achieve more. She said with the preparations towards the upcoming G20 Summit, it is clear that India will not only speak for its people, but has placed a premium on helping the Global South to which Zambia belongs. 

She said India’s approach to global issues was in tandem with President Hakainde Hichilema’s belief that war in one country affects other countries as well hence the need to maintain global peace for sustainable economic development.  

She also thanked the Government of India for its support during the COVID pandemic saying global challenges needed global solutions as and called for a change of mindset towards sole dependency on one region of the world for products, saying the war in Ukraine had taught the whole world valuable lessons due to the commodity scarcity challenges that have crippled most countries. 

She observed that India was one of the leaders in Information Technology and that other countries have a lot to learn in that area adding that Indian’s technological advancement was keyto unlocking some sectors in Zambia such as agriculture where new methods of water harvesting for irrigation could be implemented to enhance food security. 

She also said Zambia is looking to India for clean energy sources such as solar, hydro and wind and thanked the Vice President for allowing her to visit him.