Hichilema signs another US$2.14bn in UAE MoUs — but what happened to the earlier deals?
Breaking News Zambia
NewsLUSAKA – President Hakainde Hichilema says Zambia and the United Arab Emirates have signed memoranda of understanding worth US$2.14 billion as the two countries seek to deepen trade and investment ties. The agreements were announced during the Zambia–UAE Business Forum in Abu Dhabi, where Hichilema said it was significant that his first trip abroad after […]
LUSAKA – President Hakainde Hichilema says Zambia and the United Arab Emirates have signed memoranda of understanding worth US$2.14 billion as the two countries seek to deepen trade and investment ties.
The agreements were announced during the Zambia–UAE Business Forum in Abu Dhabi, where Hichilema said it was significant that his first trip abroad after the 2026 elections had again taken him to the UAE.
But the latest commitments also raise a bigger question: how much of the investment promised through earlier Zambia–UAE agreements has actually translated into projects, capital and jobs in Zambia?
That question matters because the two countries have been building their economic relationship for several years, with agreements covering energy, finance, agriculture, mining, SMEs and trade.
The relationship goes back before 2021
The investment relationship between Zambia and the UAE predates the current wave of business forums.
The two countries signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty in February 2020, which entered into force in June 2021. The agreement provides a framework for promoting and protecting investments between the two countries.
During Expo 2020 Dubai, which took place from October 2021 to March 2022, Zambia used its participation to promote investment opportunities in agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, energy, mining and infrastructure.
The Ministry of Commerce and Trade says the participation resulted in, among other things, a cooperation memorandum between the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Abu Dhabi and Ajman chambers, increased exports of products such as avocados, blueberries, cashew nuts and honey, and expanded operations by some Zambian companies in Dubai.
Hichilema’s visit to the UAE for Zambia’s National Day at Expo 2020 took place in January 2022. Parliament was subsequently told that the Emirates Investment Authority had directed third-party investors towards opportunities in Zambia, with the Government saying this was expected to support up to 2GW of new electricity generation capacity.
From agreements to the first major investment
One of the clearest examples of UAE-linked capital reaching Zambia is Mopani Copper Mines.
In 2024, International Resources Holding, through its UAE-linked entity Delta Mining, acquired a 51 percent stake in Mopani for US$1.1 billion. UNCTAD identified the transaction as a major contributor to the increase in merger and acquisition activity in Zambia that year.
The remaining 49 percent is held by ZCCM-IH.
The Mopani transaction has therefore become one of the most substantial examples of UAE-linked investment associated with Zambia’s renewed economic relationship.
In February 2026, Zambia’s Ministry of Technology and Science said the UAE investment in Mopani had helped revive the mine and that the investor had maintained the existing workforce while creating more than 2,000 additional mining jobs.
What about the investment figures?
There is an important distinction between investment commitments, project values and money actually invested.
The Bank of Zambia’s foreign private investment data recorded the UAE’s foreign private investment position in Zambia at US$164.17 million in 2023. That is useful as a pre-Mopani benchmark, but it cannot be treated as the current value of all UAE investment in Zambia because the Mopani transaction occurred in 2024.
The UAE’s role also extends beyond Mopani.
In 2023, Zambia announced a US$15 million framework involving the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development to support SMEs. The same period also saw an MoU on mineral exploration.
Another major undertaking was the US$2 billion Masdar-ZESCO solar programme, announced in 2023, with an initial 500MW phase and an eventual target of up to 2,000MW.
However, this is precisely where the distinction between an announced project and actual investment becomes important. In 2024, Masdar said project development was still ongoing, meaning the US$2 billion figure could not simply be counted as money already invested in Zambia.
The UAE relationship has also grown commercially
The relationship is not only about investment.
In 2025, State House reported that Zambia’s trade with the UAE had reached US$2.24 billion, describing a 300 percent increase in trade between the two countries. The Government has also been pursuing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to further facilitate trade.
More recently, the Government has repeatedly identified UAE investment opportunities in agriculture, energy, tourism, infrastructure, logistics, mining, healthcare and financial services.
In June 2026, Zambia’s mission in Dubai also held a “Zambia Beckons” investment dialogue aimed at turning interest from UAE investors and funds into concrete projects. The mission described the follow-up work as an effort to translate investment interest into actual commitments.
Now comes another US$2.14 billion
Against that background, Hichilema says the latest Zambia–UAE Business Forum has produced MoUs worth US$2.14 billion.
The President said Zambia wants to learn from the UAE’s development experience and use its natural resources to grow the economy under the Grow Zambia Agenda.
He also said Zambia wants to conclude a Comprehensive Partnership Agreement with the UAE to increase trade.
The latest agreements cover several sectors and are intended to bring more investment into Zambia.
But the experience of the previous agreements provides an important measure for what happens next.
An MoU is a commitment to cooperate; it is not, by itself, proof that the stated investment value has been disbursed.
That distinction is particularly important for the new US$2.14 billion figure.
The real test is implementation
Zambia and the UAE have moved from diplomatic relations towards a much deeper commercial relationship.
There is now a major UAE-linked investment in Mopani, SME financing through the Khalifa Fund, renewable-energy projects, increased trade and continuing investor engagement.
At the same time, some large announced projects have taken longer to move from agreement to implementation.
That makes the next stage of the relationship less about the number of MoUs signed and more about how quickly the projects become operational, how much capital actually enters Zambia, how many jobs are created and how much value is retained in the Zambian economy.
For the latest US$2.14 billion announcement, those are likely to be the numbers to watch.
Zambian Eye examines the agreements, the investment record and what the latest UAE commitments could mean for Zambia’s economy.
Community Feedback