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Sata to travel to that country to sign the millennium challenge compact, which is a development agreement of the Millennium Challenge Co-operation (MCC), when it is ready.
Lubinda, currently visiting the US, said the idea came up during meetings he held with senior officials from the Obama administration.
Among those who attended the meeting include Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Reuben Brigit and Tyler Beckerman, Director for African Affairs at the White House, according to ZANIS.
“We also discussed issues of continued co-operation politically and Mr. Brigit requested if we could ask President Michael Sata to consider coming to the United States of America to sign the compact of the MCC,” Lubinda was quoted as saying by the paper.
Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba is leading a delegation which is holding technical negotiations of the Millennium Challenge Account for Zambia involving US$354 million for a water and sanitation project in Lusaka, the Zambian capital.
He further said various issues of mutual interest such as democracy, diplomacy, increased trade between the two countries and general bilateral co-operation were discussed during the meeting.
The US government, he said, also expressed satisfaction with Zambia’s democratic and economic advancements hence its desire to exchange high profile personality visits.
The Zambian government has since invited president Obama to visit the southern African nation later this year, he added.
The Zambian government has asked the US to relax its harsh regulations on the importation of wildlife trophies such as ivory into their market, according to ZANIS.
The Zambian minister said relaxing regulations of the importation of game trophies from Zambia to the US will enable the African country to freely sell its trophies and earn revenue that will help conserve wildlife and benefit communities living in game management areas.
He further said there was need to downgrade the elephant from Appendix 1 to Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) to enable Zambia to sell the largest mammal in the country for hunting.
Meanwhile, the United States will contribute more than US$12 million to agriculture policy research in Zambia over the next five years, the Post of Zambia reported yesterday.
The growth of the agricultural sector in Zambia would be determined by the strength of the country’s policies and investment decisions and thus underscores the importance of research in the development of the sector, the report said, citing US Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella.
“Informed policies will lead to reform in government programmes, increasing living standards and improving nutrition among the rural poor,” the US envoy was quoted as saying during the launch of the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), an agriculture research think-tank in Lusaka.
According to the report, it is an independent Zambian-led institute that will provide credible, impartial policy guidance on agricultural issues. – Xinhua.
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