LUSAKA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Indian President Ram Nath Kovind is this week expected in Zambia for a three-day state visit aimed at cementing ties between the two countries, Zambia's foreign affairs ministry said on Monday.
The Indian leader will be in Zambia from April 10 to 12 at the invitation of his Zambian counterpart Edgar Lungu, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji.
"Zambia has enjoyed excellent relations and cooperation with India with support accorded to Zambia on a bilateral level as well as under the framework of the India-Africa Summit, in the fields of energy, health, infrastructure, capacity building, agriculture, and trade," he told reporters during a press briefing.
The Zambian minister, who noted that India was an important strategic partner in Zambia government's quest to deliver development, added that the visit will go a long way in cementing ties.
During the visit, the two leaders will hold bilateral talks and witness the signing of several memoranda of understanding aimed at enhancing cooperation in various sectors including the establishment of an Entrepreneurship Development Institute in Zambia, taxation, visa exemption on diplomatic passports and judicial cooperation, he added.
He further said the two leaders will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony of a project to decongest Lusaka, the country's capital's roads, the Lusaka City Roads Decongestion Project, to be supported by the Indian government.
A Zambia-India Business Forum will also be held in the margins of the state visit aimed at fostering trade and investment linkages between the private sectors of the two countries.
According to government figures, private investment in Zambia by Indian companies currently stands at over 5 billion U.S. dollars while bilateral trade stood at 1.2 billion dollars from April 2017 to January 2018.