The Zambian cabinet has approved the need for the country to ratify the Eastern and Southern Africa Interim Economic Partnership agreement with the European Union (EU), a spokesperson said on Friday.
Dora Siliya, Chief Government Spokesperson said the cabinet at its sitting recently approved that Zambia should ratify the agreement with the EU in order to facilitate engagement in negotiations aimed at deepening and widening the agreement.
She said in a release that signing the agreement will safeguard Zambia’s future market access to economic development interests with the EU.
“Cabinet noted that the European Union has entered into more than 52 preferential trade arrangements with countries around the world, offering the EU alternatives to import its requirements from the most competitive source,” she said.
According to her, Zambia’s future trade with the EU must be planned with the understanding that many other countries have deals with the EU to ensure that the country remains competitive on the European market. Enditem
