UK announces $3.8B fund to support to Zambia's green energy, mining industries

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) – The UK on Thursday announced a £3 billion (approximately $3.81 billion) fund to support greenfield energy and mining investments in Zambia.

Visiting UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly informed President Hakainde Hichilema during a meeting at State House in the capital Lusaka, that the fund is in the form of a UK clean energy partnership with the southern African country, which aims to drive investment in Zambia’s green economy, strengthen economic partnerships, tackle climate change, and create jobs and business opportunities in both countries.

"The new targets include generating up to £2.5 billion in British private sector investment in Zambia's mining, minerals, and renewable energy sectors, delivering up to £500 million in UK government-backed investments, and mobilizing up to £150 million in private sector investment in small and medium-sized enterprises,” Cleverly said.

The commercial opportunities will benefit both UK and Zambian firms, thereby growing the economies of both countries, he added.

Cleverly, the first UK foreign secretary to visit Zambia in over 30 years was on a four-day tour of Africa, stopping in Ghana and Nigeria before arriving in Lusaka.

While in Zambia, he visited a copper mine and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on critical minerals for additional UK support in the mining of copper, cobalt, and other metals essential to the global clean energy transition.

"Working together with our partners in Zambia, the UK is driving the clean energy transition. The UK-Zambia green growth compact and our landmark agreement on critical minerals will support investment between UK and Zambian business, creating jobs in both countries and improving environmental and social standards," he said.

Hichilema thanked Cleverly for the UK's assistance in reaching a comprehensive $6.3 billion debt restructuring agreement with external creditors in June.

"We are on an economic reconstruction agenda to build a stronger future for our people, and through this cooperation, we can build a greener, more prosperous future for both countries, which benefits us all," said the president of Africa's second-largest copper producer.