Kafue, 20 June 2017
At the conclusion of his two-day State visit to Zambia, President Kagame today toured the Kafue Steel Plant, located in Kafue town, Lusaka Province. The steel plant is run by Universal Mining and Chemical Industries, established in 2006 to harness local raw materials to produce iron and steel for local consumption and export to neighbouring countries.
Addressing members of the press at the end of the tour, President Kagame said the steel manufacturing plant was a major progress in achieving Zambia’s industrialisation agenda and that it would benefit not only Zambia but also the rest of Africa.
“Here is a good sign of a big step that has been taken to produce steel for our industries. That whole value chain is necessary for the foundations of industrialization of our economies; Zambia’s, Rwanda’s and Africa’s as a whole.”
During the visit three bilateral agreements were signed between Rwanda and Zambia, including air services agreement, a memorandum of understanding on defence and security cooperation and an extradition treaty between the two nations.
President Kagame called for increased interactions between citizens of the two nations which would serve to build stronger economic ties, while President Edgar Lungu said that his nation looks forward to sharing experiences with Rwanda as well as developing closer ties for mutual benefit.