By Gift Chanda
Mon 11 June 2012, 13:22 CAT
ZAMBIA is seeking more US investment ahead of this year's African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum.
The United States will from June 14 to June 15 host the 2012 AGOA Forum which brings together several government officials, private sector and other stakeholders from the US and Africa to discuss trade and investment opportunities.
Mon 11 June 2012, 13:22 CAT
ZAMBIA is seeking more US investment ahead of this year's African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum.
The United States will from June 14 to June 15 host the 2012 AGOA Forum which brings together several government officials, private sector and other stakeholders from the US and Africa to discuss trade and investment opportunities.
According to a statement released by first secretary for press at the Zambian Embassy in Washington Patricia Littiya, commerce minister Robert Sichinga is in the US to court investors ahead of the AGOA Forum which will take place in Washington DC and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sichinga is leading a 13-member delegation of experts from the government and the private sector and is expected to meet with top US officials and business leaders.
While in Los Angeles, the Zambian delegation will market Zambia under the theme "Zambia - An emerging market".
According to the programme made available to the Zambian Embassy in Washington, the minister and his team are also expected to hold talks with potential investors interested in tourism, housing and mining.
Sichinga is also expected to meet with California Senator Curren Price who is chairperson of the Business, Professional and Economic Development Committee of the Senate.
He will also address the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and later hold private talks with that city's Chamber of Commerce president Gary Toebben and senior vice-president of Global Initiatives Carlos Vaderrama.
During the course of his Los Angeles business trip, Sichinga will have an audience with the management team of the City of Riverside Public Utilities. The City of Riverside is known as one of the most innovative cities in the area of water and power supply and conservation.
Although Zambia's exports to the United States under AGOA last year rose to US$47.3 million from US$26.9 million registered in 2010, the trade figures between the two countries still remain low and unbalanced.
For instance, while Zambia's exports to the US were growing, the figures remained far below the country's import from US.
Last year, imports from the US were at US$129 million against exports worth US$47.3 million.
In 2010, Zambia's total trade value with the US was at US$86 million, and was America's 164th largest trade partner.
Sichinga is leading a 13-member delegation of experts from the government and the private sector and is expected to meet with top US officials and business leaders.
While in Los Angeles, the Zambian delegation will market Zambia under the theme "Zambia - An emerging market".
According to the programme made available to the Zambian Embassy in Washington, the minister and his team are also expected to hold talks with potential investors interested in tourism, housing and mining.
Sichinga is also expected to meet with California Senator Curren Price who is chairperson of the Business, Professional and Economic Development Committee of the Senate.
He will also address the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and later hold private talks with that city's Chamber of Commerce president Gary Toebben and senior vice-president of Global Initiatives Carlos Vaderrama.
During the course of his Los Angeles business trip, Sichinga will have an audience with the management team of the City of Riverside Public Utilities. The City of Riverside is known as one of the most innovative cities in the area of water and power supply and conservation.
Although Zambia's exports to the United States under AGOA last year rose to US$47.3 million from US$26.9 million registered in 2010, the trade figures between the two countries still remain low and unbalanced.
For instance, while Zambia's exports to the US were growing, the figures remained far below the country's import from US.
Last year, imports from the US were at US$129 million against exports worth US$47.3 million.
In 2010, Zambia's total trade value with the US was at US$86 million, and was America's 164th largest trade partner.