LUSAKA – President Hakainde Hichilema will travel to the United Arab Emirates on Monday for a two-day working visit, his first foreign trip since the August 13 general election, as Zambia’s post-election political dispute continues to play out on the international stage.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, Hichilema will undertake the working visit from September 29 to 30 at the invitation of UAE President and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The timing puts the President’s trip alongside an increasingly visible diplomatic dimension to Zambia’s post-election debate.
While Hichilema has remained in Zambia, Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe has been representing him at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. Zambia’s Permanent Mission said Haimbe’s mandate included reaffirming the country’s commitment to constitutionalism, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights.
On Saturday, Haimbe delivered Hichilema’s message during the UN General Debate, saying political differences should be handled peacefully through constitutional and legal institutions.
Hichilema, through Haimbe, also said Zambia’s democratic process should not be mistaken for conflict or instability and that political disputes should not develop into violence, armed mobilisation or insurgency.
Protests follow Haimbe to Zambia’s mission
At the same time, demonstrations by some Zambians in New York have continued around the Government’s handling of the post-election period.
The latest development came on Saturday when protesters followed Haimbe to the Zambian Mission in New York as they sought an opportunity to meet the Foreign Affairs Minister and present their concerns.
The demonstrations are part of efforts by some Zambians in the diaspora to draw international attention to issues arising from the August election and its aftermath.
Haimbe had earlier disputed reports of protests against Zambia at the UN, saying there was no such protest activity at the UN headquarters. Protest organisers, however, maintained that demonstrations had taken place.
The significance of Saturday’s development is therefore less about whether protests occurred and more about what the protesters were attempting to do — take their concerns directly to the Government’s representative while he was in New York.
From New York to Abu Dhabi
Against that backdrop, Hichilema is now preparing to leave Zambia for the UAE.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry says the visit is primarily focused on strengthening bilateral relations and advancing the Government’s Grow Zambia economic agenda.
The President and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are expected to hold an official bilateral meeting, culminating in the signing of Memoranda of Understanding aimed at deepening cooperation between the two countries.
The visit will focus particularly on investment and joint ventures in mining and mineral value addition, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, transport and logistics, tourism and healthcare.
The programme will also include the Zambia-UAE Business and Investment Forum, a presidential engagement with UAE business leaders and a meeting with the Zambian community in the UAE.
The Government says the engagements are intended to translate existing bilateral commitments into investments, partnerships, jobs and wider economic opportunities.
Why the UAE trip matters
The visit comes only days after Hichilema said Zambia’s foreign policy would increasingly be anchored on economic diplomacy as the country moves from economic stabilisation towards sustained growth.
When he received newly accredited envoys at State House on September 18, Hichilema specifically highlighted the UAE among countries with which Zambia wants to strengthen trade and investment relations.
The UAE relationship has also been developing beyond traditional diplomatic engagement.
Zambia opened its embassy in Abu Dhabi in 2023, while the UAE deployed its first resident ambassador to Zambia in September 2026, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry statement.
The Government is also seeking to advance negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, with the UAE.
That gives Hichilema’s visit a clear economic dimension at the start of his second term.
A President moving onto the international stage
The sequence is notable.
Hichilema has spent the weeks following the election largely in Zambia while his Government has faced continuing criticism from opposition figures and some international actors over the post-election environment.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on September 17 addressing post-electoral developments in Zambia, while the Government subsequently rejected the resolution as premature and requested engagement with European Union institutions.
At the same time, Haimbe has been defending the Government’s position in New York.
Now Hichilema himself is preparing to travel abroad, with the UAE visit centred officially on investment, trade and bilateral cooperation.
The President’s message at home has also been that Zambia should move beyond the election and concentrate on development. In remarks at State House on Friday, Hichilema said there was no crisis in Zambia and called on citizens to move on from the election.
The UAE visit therefore comes at an important moment: the Government is seeking to project continuity, stability and economic opportunity internationally, while some Zambians abroad continue to press the international community over unresolved political and legal concerns at home.
The two narratives are now unfolding beyond Zambia’s borders.
Hichilema is expected to return to Zambia after concluding his UAE engagements.