A Review of Zambia’s Economic Diplomacy with a Special Focus on Zambia-China Relations 2010-2018

Abstract

Economic diplomacy is an important tool for foreign policy of the government to promote economic interest of Zambia in relation to trade promotion, attracting investment through channels of diplomacy. Finding markets for exports and attracting foreign direct investments become critical in the development of a country especially when the domestic economy is too small to meet the economic demands of the population. For Zambia to attain sustained economic growth, strong foreign economic relations and more integration in the world economy are needed to promote trade and investments. The research took a realist and liberalist approach in assessing Zambia‟s economic diplomacy from the independence era to date. No research has ever been done on Zambia‟s use of economic diplomacy as a field of diplomacy. Therefore, it relied on secondary data and experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Zambian diplomats and people from the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Experts in the field of economic diplomacy were interviewed during the study, all of whom emphasised the importance of economic diplomacy to Zambia‟s aspiring of becoming a prosperous middle-income nation by 2030. The Zambian government together with its diplomatic missions abroad and trade representatives from the business community have a critical role to play in advancing the economic diplomacy agenda of the country in a world where national interests serve both state and non-state actors. These key agencies have a role of ensuring that they market Zambia with the best image building activities in the international arena by using the best tools. Low awareness levels were identified during the research including the pace at which non-state actors are being incorporated to spearhead the country‟s push for better and increased results through economic diplomacy. With emphasis on economic diplomacy, it is recommended that the country develops a national economic diplomacy strategy that outlines the key activities aligned to strategic economic sectors in order to have a much more result-oriented approach. There is also a need to build a positive image of the country that ably attracts investors and tourists.