Finland's aim is to contribute towards political stability and peaceful development in Zambia. Finland and Zambia enjoy an open and active relationship due to long-term diplomatic relations and development co-operation. Development co-operation was interrupted in 1996, during which time no new development projects were started, due to the Government of Finland's concern regarding undemocratic developments in Zambia. Annual bilateral negotiations between Zambia and Finland, which had not been held for a couple of years, resumed in 2004, after the democratic situation in the country had improved.
Lately there have been high-level diplomatic visits, which further demonstrate the positive political relations between Zambia and Finland. The Finnish Minister for Trade and Development visited Zambia in 2006, while Finland's Presidency of the EU in 2006 provides an opportunity to further strengthen the political relations between the two countries.
In accordance with the new Finnish development aid policy, Finland has as one its top priorities the integration of commercial and trade relations, in order to foster long term development in those countries to which it provides development cooperation. Trade relations between Finland and Zambia have been mainly based on bilateral development cooperation. Also the operations of Finnish companies in Zambia have mainly been financed by development aid though this in general has been quite insignificant. Nevertheless, there is potential to expand trade and economic relations between Finland and Zambia.
The Embassy of Finland, together with Zambian officials and other stakeholder in the area of business co-operation, are in the process of preparing a Joint Action Plan on Trade and Investments. The directors of the Zambia Investment Centre and the Export Board of Zambia visited Finland in October 2005 in order to kick-start the development of commercial relations between our two countries. An Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investments was also signed between Finland and Zambia in September 2005.
The visit to Zambia in February 2006 by the Finnish Foreign Trade and Development Minister accelerated the promotion of commercial relations between our countries. The Minister was accompanied by a Finnish Business delegation representing Finnish know-how in the mining, energy, electricity and telecommunication sectors. At the conclusion of their visit the participating companies reported that both their visibility and contacts in Zambia were improved.
Relations between Finland and Zambia have been based on development cooperation. Planning and preparation for Finnish development co-operation to Zambia started in 1966. Zambia had become independent two years earlier and emphasized its need to for trained technical staff. In 1970 the first bilateral project agreements were signed. Co-operation in the 1970's was mainly based on loans, but in the 1980's a grant based aid system was introduced due to the quickly weakening economic situation in Zambia.
The Finnish Embassy supports cultural projects in Zambia through the Local Co-operation Fund. The objectives of this support are to strengthen local cultural identity and to foster Zambia's valuable cultural heritage. Some of the areas funded are: theatre, visual arts, national archives and film production. The co-operation and cultural exchange between the Finnish and Zambian universities and polytechnics has also increased in recent years. In addition, KEPA (the Service Centre for Development Co-operation) Partnership Programme supports the interaction and co-operation between Zambian and Finnish non-governmental organisations.
