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Zambia has called for innovative financing solutions and strengthened strategic partnerships to help Least Developed Countries (LDCs) overcome persistent gaps in infrastructure, green financing, technology, and innovation.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mulambo Haimbe, said robust collaboration among LDCs, development partners, and the private sector was critical for sustainable development.
Speaking during a High-Level Meeting on LDCs at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday, Haimbe emphasized the need for resilience-building partnerships amid ongoing external shocks affecting vulnerable nations.
His remarks were shared in a statement issued by Naomi Mweemba, First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Mission in Paris, France.
“The Seville Commitment presents a positive starting point, offering a framework with strong complementarities to support the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs,” Haimbe said.
He reaffirmed Zambia’s commitment to advancing sustainable development despite structural and systemic constraints, and expressed readiness to pursue mutually beneficial partnerships in economic resilience, human development, environmental sustainability, and good governance.
Haimbe cited Zambia’s achievements in education, healthcare, renewable energy, and climate action as evidence of progress made through strategic partnerships and forward-thinking policies.
He also noted the country’s successful issuance of its first green bond to support sustainable development initiatives.
“Zambia has expanded access to free education, improved healthcare, promoted renewable energy, and invested in digital transformation,” he said.
With 90 percent 4G coverage, Haimbe said Zambia’s growing digital infrastructure was facilitating e-governance and digital inclusion, although further investment in digital skills and infrastructure was still required.
In a separate intervention during a multi-stakeholder roundtable on leveraging private business and finance, Haimbe underscored the need to mobilise private capital at scale and reshape global and domestic financial systems to serve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Public resources alone cannot close the US $4 trillion annual SDG financing gap, which has widened across Africa and the Global South,” he stated.
Haimbe called for stronger domestic capital markets to mobilise long-term savings and channel them into productive sectors such as agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and digital innovation.
Other speakers at the conference echoed Zambia’s position, advocating for increased cooperation between Global South countries, greater engagement with developed nations, and deeper private sector involvement to ensure the effective implementation of the Seville Commitments across LDCs.
International cooperating partners also pledged support to help LDCs address development challenges and advance the SDG agenda.
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