The European Union called Zambia a beacon of democracy on Thursday and promised deeper economic ties — while pointedly urging Lusaka to keep respecting the rule of law, in a bilateral meeting that captured both halves of Zambia's week in New York.
EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela delivered the message on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly, across the table from a Zambian delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe, who is representing President Hakainde Hichilema. Brussels recognised Zambia's support for the UN Charter, multilateralism and the rules-based international order, and committed to what both sides called a forward-looking partnership.
Money was on the table. Zambia welcomed the EU's Global Gateway initiative and development cooperation, including budget support of about €110 million, and the two sides agreed to align cooperation with the Grow Zambia Agenda — investment, value addition and economic cooperation. Brussels showed particular interest in Africa's role in electric-vehicle battery and critical-mineral value chains, a field where Zambia's copper and cobalt give it leverage. Both sides agreed that post-election developments should not divert attention from the economic opportunity; the delegation stressed what it described as the broadly peaceful conduct of the elections and thanked Brussels for its election observation mission.
The praise lands at an awkward moment. The European Parliament has called for an independent investigation into the death of former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya during a post-election security operation, and opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu remain in detention on treason charges — the asterisk that Brussels' compliment declined to name.
Haimbe also used his week to dismiss reports that Zambians in the diaspora had staged protests against the country at the Assembly. "There is no such thing as protests against Zambia," he said. "Let us not listen to the allegations on social media." He said many Zambians in the United States had told the delegation they were satisfied with the election outcome, and called for national unity: "Those who voted for and those who voted against, we are now past the election. Let us move forward."
The week brought paper as well as politics: a joint communiqué establishing diplomatic relations with the Principality of Andorra — with tourism, education and climate action among the expected areas of cooperation — following Wednesday's communiqués with Uruguay and Vanuatu. Haimbe also met Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey on democracy, human rights and environmental protection, while Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi attended the launch of the Accra Reset High-Level Panel report on global health governance. Haimbe delivers Zambia's national statement in the General Debate on Monday, 28 September.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: The Síkela–Haimbe bilateral, the €110 million budget-support figure, the Andorra communiqué, the Botchwey meeting and the Monday national statement are confirmed by the Zambian mission, the foreign ministry and ZNBC.
Alleged / contested: Whether diaspora protests took place outside the headquarters remains disputed — organisers insist they demonstrated on Tuesday and Wednesday; the minister refutes it. The EU's characterisation of Zambia as a beacon is Brussels' own framing, contested by the opposition and civil society at home.
Sources: Lusaka Times, "EU Hails Zambia As 'Beacon Of Democracy' But Presses Rule Of Law" (24 Sep 2026); Mwebantu, "Zambia and European Union reaffirm strong partnership" (24 Sep 2026); ZNBC (24 Sep 2026); Zambia UN Mission; Lusaka Brief archive.
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