Zambia is a politically stable land-locked country in Southern Africa. Its economy has been dominated for generations by copper exports. Non-value-added mining accounts for 77% of exports, which are heavily influenced by volatile global commodity prices. Zambia needs to diversify its economy and to add value to its commodity exports. It is for this reason that the Government of the Republic of Zambia, through its 7th National Development Plan (7NDP), 2017-2021, has committed to creating a diversified and resilient economy for sustained growth and socio-economic transformation driven, among others, by agriculture. Other key sectors of the economy are tourism and manufacturing. The country has a high urban population owing to the location of its major cities along the line of rail and near large-scale copper mines. Although the country recorded steady economic growth during the period 1990-2015, poverty remains the greatest challenge to national development.

The Zambian Government is making concerted efforts to ease its debt burden through raising internal revenue, both from domestic resources and international trade.

As a landlocked country, Zambia’s imports and exports must traverse several borders and countries enroute to seaports. The main seaports that the country uses for its imports and exports include the Port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania and Durban Port in South Africa.  These routes are subject to multiple delays and non-tariff barriers (NTBs).

Zambia is a member of two major regional economic communities (RECs), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The plans of the Government of Zambia (GRZ) are to increase trade with neighbours through reduced trade tariffs and better trade facilitation. However, the country’s membership in more than one regional economic community presents challenges of administering different trade regimes, rules and standards. The Zambian private sector is constrained as it attempts to comply with the different sets of trade rules or standards regimes.

The 7^th National Development Plan 2017–2021 proposes several structural reforms aimed at restoring its economic growth path. One essential part of these reforms is fostering private sector-led development. The plan proposes measures to improve the business environment making the country a prime destination for investment and wealth creation. GRZ proposes specific trade development programmes to improve access to domestic, regional and global markets for exports.

These include:

1. Development of domestic transport infrastructure;
2. Transport corridor development;
3. Efficient border management;
4. Establishment of OSBPs; and
5. Enhancing legal and policy frameworks.