Lusaka, Zambia, 27 September 2023 – The Economic Commission for Africa and Afreximbank, the technical partners with the Zambian and Congolese governments on the battery electric vehicle project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, will organize a two-day stakeholder consultative meeting on the initiative on 4-5 October 2023 in Lusaka, Zambia.
The world-wide clean energy transition has placed this initiative in the spotlight of development in the two countries. The initiative is being supported at the highest level in both countries. In the DRC, the President of the DRC has set up the Congolese Battery Council and appointed its leaders by presidential decree No 0314/02/2023, to strengthen the governance of this transforming and industrializing project. In Zambia, the Ministers of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Finance and National Planning and Mines and Minerals Development were specifically tasked, by the Republican President, to spearhead the initiative.
Objectives
The main objective of the consultations to be organized under the theme "Needs and financing mechanisms of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in the Republic of Zambia" is to provide the Zambian private sector and entrepreneurs, the local financial sector, development partners, institutional investors, negotiators, with the opportunity to discuss and identify the opportunities for their active participation on specific nodes of the battery value chain. The identification and exploitation of the various local content opportunities will help deepen the domestic footprint of the value chain in Zambia and ensure that linkages are developed and strengthened as the value chain evolves. In this manner, the developmental role of the sector will be strengthened. Furthermore, the forum will provide an opportunity for ARISE IIP to present the findings of the prefeasibility study undertaken on the project.
Participants
The consultative meeting will be attended by high-level Government officials, contractors, captains of the private sector, representatives of the Zambian financial and banking system and of the community of investors, industrialists, academics, African Development Bank, Afreximbank, the United Nations and other stakeholders, in particular those who play a leading role in the development and financing actors in the battery, electric vehicle and renewable energy value chains.
For Media inquiries: Lavender C. Degre Communication Officer United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Sub Regional Office for Southern Africa 2392 Longolongo Road P.O. Box 30647, Lusaka, ZAMBIA Tel: +260 211 228502/5 Ext. 21307 Fax: +260 211 236949 DL: +260 211 376607 Email: lavender.degre@un.org
Programme and Meeting Focal Point: Mr Oliver Maponga Economic Affairs Officer United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Sub Regional Office for Southern Africa Lusaka, Zambia Mobile: +260955750288 Email: mapongao@un.org
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