By The Zambian Economist Analyst | Lusaka | 29 October 2026

LUSAKA: The Permanent Secretary for International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Etambuyu Anamela Gundersen, today received His Excellency Mr Soenke Siemon, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Zambia and Special Representative to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, at Charter House in Lusaka.

The meeting put the shape of one of Zambia’s oldest development partnerships on the table. Germany has been a cooperating partner to Zambia since independence, and the sectors the two sides chose to discuss, agriculture, water and good governance, are the same sectors where German support has run deepest over the decades.

Anchoring cooperation in the Grow Zambia Agenda

According to a statement from the Ministry, the discussions centred on existing bilateral cooperation between Zambia and Germany in agriculture, water and good governance, with a focus on strengthening collaboration in these priority sectors under the framework of the Grow Zambia Agenda.

That framing matters. The government’s growth programme, which sets out to double the size of the economy over the next decade, depends heavily on agriculture performing at scale and on public institutions that can spend money where it was budgeted. A partner that has spent decades in Zambian agriculture, water infrastructure and governance reform is being asked to line its support behind domestic targets rather than parallel projects.

Water sits in the same ledger. Whether the issue is municipal supply in growing towns, irrigation for commercial and smallholder farming, or the management of shared river systems, German-funded programmes have historically been among the largest in the sector. Aligning that support with the growth agenda gives the Ministry of Green Economy and the water utilities a financing conversation that is already underway.

What the Ambassador said

In his remarks, Ambassador Siemon thanked the Permanent Secretary and reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to supporting the Grow Zambia Agenda, particularly in areas of mutual interest, while underscoring the importance of further strengthening the longstanding bilateral relations between Zambia and Germany.

The Ambassador carries a second hat that widens the context of the meeting. As Germany’s Special Representative to COMESA, he speaks for a partner that sees Zambia not only as a bilateral counterpart but as a platform inside a 21-member trading bloc. For Lusaka, that dual role is an opening: programmes agreed at Charter House can be designed to serve regional trade corridors and cross-border value chains, where Zambian agriculture and water resources carry competitive weight.

What this means for business and policy

For business: German development cooperation arrives through implementing agencies that contract suppliers, consultants and training providers. Firms in irrigation equipment, agro-processing, water technology and public financial management systems should watch the follow-on commitments from this meeting, because alignment with the Grow Zambia Agenda tends to come with procurement.

For policy: the test of a courtesy call is what follows it. The sectors discussed are the right ones, but the Ministry’s statement sets no timelines and names no programmes. The indicators to watch are the next round of bilateral consultations and whether agriculture, water and governance commitments appear in the 2027 budget framing as co-financed lines rather than statements of intent.

For investors: Germany’s reaffirmed support for the growth agenda adds a layer of de-risking to sectors that private capital finds difficult on its own. Irrigation, water treatment and climate-smart agriculture are more bankable when a bilateral partner is already funding the public-side infrastructure around them.

Related reading

• The Grow Zambia Agenda Explained
• Grow Zambia Agenda: The Economy-Doubling Targets
• Zambia Budget 2027: Jobs and Productive Investment

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