GOVERNMENT says no Zambians were harmed in the recent earthquake that struck Morocco.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Stanley Kakubo, made this announcement in Parliament in a ministerial statement in response to a query from Roan Member of Parliament Jimmy Chibuye regarding the well-being of Zambian students studying in Morocco following the earthquake.

Mr Kakubo explained that the Zambian community in Morocco primarily consists of students, approximately 314 of whom are registered with the Zambian embassy in various Moroccan cities.

He said the earthquake occurred during the last week of the summer holidays, meaning that some graduating students had already left Morocco, while others were still away visiting friends in different cities.

Mr Kakubo disclosed that it has been confirmed that approximately 282 students who were in Morocco at the time of the earthquake are safe, and none of their residences were affected.

“Madam speaker, it must be noted that, on the morning after the quake, the Zambian embassy in Rabat in conjunction with the Zambian Students’ Association – ZASAM, made immediate efforts to determine everyone’s wellbeing, using the student body’s communication structures that include town representatives.

Therefore, wish to indicate that all towns’ representatives confirmed that everyone was safe and secure and that no damages were reported to have affected their residences,” he said.

The Minister further said all town representatives confirmed that everyone was safe and secure, and there were no reports of damages to their residences.

Recently, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Al Haouz region in the High Atlas Mountains, situated approximately 80 kilometres from the popular tourist destination of Marrakech.

The official nationwide death toll had reached 2,901 by September 12th, with over 5,500 reported injuries, making it one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of Morocco.

(Mwebantu, Thursday, 5th October, 2023)

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema will be represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Stanley Kakubo at the 78th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly which is taking place from today to 26th September in New York.

Mr Kakubo is scheduled to address the General Assembly during the High-level General Debate on Tuesday, 26th September, 2023.

The theme for this year’s General Debate is: “Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals Towards Peace, Prosperity, Progress, and Sustainability For All.”

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also in attendance at the high-level segment of the United Nations General Assembly meetings will be Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo, and Minister of Community Development and Social Services Doreen Mwamba.

“On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Zambian delegation will attend the 2023 SDG Summit for Leaders, the high-level meetings on Financing for Development, Climate Ambition Summit, Non- Proliferation Treaty, business roundtable on Africa’s transition from the critical minerals to energy, the side event on Ending Early, Forced and Child Marriage co-hosted with Canada, and the side event focused on the Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods, among others,” reads the statement.

The 2023 SDG Summit is the main focus of the high-level meetings, which will serve as an anchor for all the high-level meetings and other side events. It is expected to mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance.

The Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings on pertinent issues of mutual interest with other leaders.

The Zambian delegation’s participation at the UN high-level engagements is crucial to advancing the Government’s development agenda through concerted action with other Member States in the quest to find solutions to common global challenges.

(Mwebantu, Monday, 18th September, 2023)

THE 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has officially opened at the UN Headquarters in New York with the new President of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, committing to carry out his functions with transparency, accountability and dedication.

During the official opening held at the UN Headquarters, Mr Francis pledged to carry out his mandate in accordance with the UN Charter.

In this Session which will run through to September 2024, Zambia became one of the 21 Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly.

The theme for this year’s UNGA is, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all”.

Mr Francis has since named his priority areas as peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability.

The Session will kick off with the General Debate which will be held on Tuesday, 19th to Tuesday 26th September and will include several high level meetings. Over 140 Heads of State and Government are expected to attend the High Level Week.

The SDG Summit scheduled for 18th to 19th September aims to accelerate action at the mid way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

World leaders, government officials and stakeholders will discuss progress, challenges, and strategies related to the SDGs.

It is during the SDG Summit that the Political Declaration will be adopted by Member States, highlighting progress and remaining gaps and challenges, and issuing a call to action to turn the world towards 2030.

The High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development will be held on 20th September while the Climate Ambition Summit will run parallel on the same day.

Meanwhile, three separate health-related meetings are scheduled for the 20th September to 22nd September 2023.

And some of the events to look out for are the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29), Summit of the Future, UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development, Commission for Social Development, Commission on the Status of Women and Commission on Population and Development, among others.

This is according to a press statement issued by Namatama Njekwa, First Secretary for Press and Public Relation at Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations.