Zambia President Edgar Chagwa Lungu visited India on Tuesday on a three-day visit and was welcomed at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present during this. After this, he went to Rajghat to pay homage at the samadhi of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. He has come on this visit to India at the invitation of President Ramnath Kovind. Kovind visited Zambia in April and during this time Lungu was invited to come to India.
A high-level delegation has also accompanied Lungu on this tour. It also includes Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji, Commerce and Trade Minister Christopher Yaluma, Mines and Minerals Minister Richard Musukwa, Presidential Affairs Minister Frechham Sikajwe and other senior officials.
There will be no discussion on KCM with Vedanta, the
Zambian State House said in a statement on Tuesday that President Edgar Lungu will not meet with the chairman of Vedanta Resources to discuss the disputed payment of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) during his visit to India. The Mumbai-based company said on Tuesday that it would meet Lungu and his team visiting India on Tuesday for further discussions on KCM, but the Zambian State House said President Lungu and his representatives would be headed by Vedanta president Anil Aggarwal No meeting with is proposed.
The Vedanta and Zambian government have been in dispute after Lusaka was appointed as a liquidator to run KCM. The state mining company ZCCM-IH of KCM Zambia holds 20% of the shares and the rest is held by Vedanta. Zambia has accused KCM of breaking the terms of its license, which Vedanta denies. Zambia is the second-largest producer of copper in Africa.
