The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, is to lead a business delegation to Lusaka (25-27 February) helping to make sure London and the UK remain the regional partner of choice when it comes to financial and professional services.

Speaking ahead of his trip, where he will be joined by City firms, Lord Mayor Jeffrey Mountevans, said:

“Building partnership between our two countries is the main goal of my visit this week. I want to make sure that the City of London and the rest of the UK are Zambia’s first thought when they want to do business.

“Bilateral trade between Zambia and the UK, which has reached record levels, is expected to continue with its strong growth. And while the country is the UK’s sixth largest export market in sub Saharan Africa, I think we can and should be building on this over the years and the prime objective of my visit is to do just this.”

Acting as ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services, the Lord Mayor will be meeting with His Excellency President Lungu and senior members of the government, the central bank, investment authorities, regulators and business leaders. Other notable events he will take part in include:

• A roundtable discussion on the challenges around growing Zambia’s capital market where the Lord Mayor intends to give a keynote speech
• Attending a meeting between the Securities Exchange Commission of Zambia and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) on benchmark qualifications and professional standards and the growth of the Zambian capital market.
• Meeting and speaking to members from the British Chamber of Commerce and local companies on the business environment and the challenges and opportunities in Zambia.
• A meeting with the World Bank Group.

Notes to editors

About the Lord Mayor of the City of London

• The Lord Mayor is head of the City of London authority for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It is an exceptionally demanding role. The Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year).

• The Lord Mayor represents City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the Government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a Cabinet Minister.

• The Lord Mayor meets several international Heads of Government and Business each month to discuss financial services, often in conjunction with senior City business representatives. The Lord Mayor lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.

Henry Tanner, Senior Media Officer, City of London Corporation

Tel: 020 7332 1835 / Mobile: 07717 797821

Email: henry.tanner@cityoflondon.gov.uk