Zambian President to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican

LUSAKA, Zambia

Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, is this weekend expected to travel to Brussels in Belgium and the Vatican where he is expected to meet Pope Francis.

In a Facebook post, President Hichilema said he will be in Brussels to attend an EU and AU summit at the invitation of the European Union.

This is President Hichilema’s seventh foreign trip since assuming office five months ago.

“Our ambitious economic transformation agenda will require a lot of capital injection, skills and knowledge transfer, and linkages with both local and international investors. It is for this reason that we have accepted an invitation from the European Union to participate in the EU and AU summit to be held in Brussels, Belgium, this coming weekend,” he announced.

Mr Hichilema said the European Union is a key economic regional block that offers vast opportunities for our products, especially in farming and mining communities.

“We want to fully participate and understand some of the impediments that make our goods not easily be accessible in this part of the world so we can improve,” he said.

“We also want to push the agenda of our goods being exported to these countries in processed form as opposed to raw materials so we can equally create jobs for our citizens, especially the young people, in the value addition chain.”

President Hichilema also revealed that he will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican during the same trip.

“We have also accepted an invitation to meet His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican. We greatly appreciate the role the Catholic Church plays in the advocacy of social justice, human rights, education and health, for our people in Zambia,” he said.

“We, therefore, accept the Holy Father’s invitation with humility and great honour.”