DISCUSSIONS are underway between the Zambian
government and Shacman, a renowned Brazilian firm to set up a military
equipment assembling plant in the country.
Deputy
Minister of Defence Christopher Mulenga disclosed that the Brazilian
firm has requested to come to Zambia in June this year to further
explore possibilities of putting up a plant.
Mr.
Mulenga said this after a meeting with Shacman Chief Executive Officer
Reinaldo Reis Vieira and his delegation in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
yesterday.
The meeting was facilitated by Zambia’s Ambassador to the Federative Republic of Brazil, Cynthia Jangulo.
Mr.
Mulenga is in Brazil where he is attending the tenth Latin American
Agribusiness Development Corporation (LAAD) exhibition on defence and
security.
This
is according to a statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today by First
Secretary for Press at the Zambian Embassy in Brazil, Patson Chilemba.
He
explained that the plant will be assembling the troop carrier and other
vehicles related to transportation in the defence and security wings.
Mr. Mulenga said the development has come at the right time when Zambia is facing a challenge of troop carrier vehicles.
And Mr. Mulenga said Shacman considered it appropriate to invest in Zambia because of her political stability and security.
He said Zambia will also act as a supplier of the military equipment to the rest of the region.
He
said the company was quite advanced as it supplied most of its goods to
several countries across the globe, including the United States of
America (USA), Britain, Saudi Arabia, with African interests in Ghana,
Namibia and many other countries.
Mr.
Mulenga also held various bilateral meetings with other companies that
expressed hope to invest in Zambia, including Embraer, which
manufactures commercial, military and cargo planes.
