Rev. Dr. Elias Munshya

By Dr. Elias Munshya

The Lobito Corridor is no longer an abstract idea. From where I sit as Zambia’s Ambassador to Angola, it is clear that this project has moved from concept to implementation. What we are seeing today is sustained political commitment, growing institutional coordination, and practical engagement among Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and our international partners.

Some commentaries still frame Lobito mainly as a route for critical minerals. Copper and cobalt from Zambia and the DRC are undeniably important to global supply chains. But on the ground, the corridor is being developed as something broader and more durable: a trade and logistics platform meant to serve ordinary people in Dilolo, traders in Jimbe, farmers in Huambo, and manufacturers across the region.

This is possible because the corridor connects real communities, not empty spaces. On the Zambian side, towns such as Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola, Mufulira, Luanshya, and Chililabombwe form a mature industrial and commercial belt. In Katanga, cities like Lubumbashi, Likasi, and Kolwezi are long established centres of production and trade. Angola links these interior zones to the Atlantic through Lobito, a port whose relevance is being renewed through deliberate policy choices.

For decades, people in these areas have traded across borders informally. They have moved goods by road, by bus, and sometimes on foot, because markets existed even when infrastructure did not. Governments are now catching up to realities that citizens have lived with for years.

One small but powerful example is chikanda, sometimes called African polony. It is a delicacy that is widely consumed in Zambia and found in parts of Angola, yet moving it to market is costly and difficult. Traders often travel thousands of kilometres over poor roads to meet demand. This is not just a cultural story. It is an economic one. When transport is inefficient, prices rise, profits shrink, and livelihoods suffer.

The same logic applies to staple foods and beef. Zambia produces maize at scale, and mealie meal prices are never far from the centre of public conversation. Angola has vast agricultural potential, including fruit such as mangoes and avocados. Yet communities can face shortages, high prices, or waste because food does not move easily from where it is grown to where it is needed. In many cases, the region does not lack food. It lacks affordable means to move it from one Zambezi region in either of the three countries to another Zambezi region in the other.

This is why the Lobito Corridor matters at the household level. Better roads, rail, storage, and border procedures reduce transport costs. Lower transport costs reduce food prices. When mealie meal becomes more affordable, the impact is immediate and felt in every home.

Recent high level engagements reflect this shift from theory to action. In November 2025, Angola hosted the African Union–European Union Summit in Luanda, where connectivity, trade, and regional value chains featured prominently. Earlier that month, Zambia hosted the EU Lobito Corridor Business Forum in Lusaka, bringing together governments, financiers, and the private sector to focus on concrete investment opportunities along the corridor.

These meetings were not symbolic. They were designed to mobilise financing, coordinate priorities, and signal seriousness. They also reflected alignment at the highest political level. President João Lourenço of Angola has positioned Lobito as central to Angola’s post war economic integration. President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia has placed trade, value addition, and regional corridors at the heart of Zambia’s growth agenda. President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has engaged closely with both Angola and Zambia on cross border infrastructure, recognising that Congo’s development depends on regional connectivity.

This political alignment is already influencing practical decisions. Zambia’s efforts to deepen copper value chains, including cable manufacturing, depend on predictable transport routes. Angola’s growing agricultural output depends on access to regional and international markets. For the DRC, improved logistics reduce delays that have long pushed up the cost of doing business.

International partners are engaged, each with clear interests. Europe seeks resilient supply chains. The United States and others see strategic value in diversified routes. China remains a long standing infrastructure partner in the region. These dynamics are real. What has changed is Africa’s posture.

Angola, Zambia, and the DRC are approaching the Lobito Corridor with a clear sense of ownership. Engagement with partners is shaped by defined regional priorities rather than external templates. This is African agency in practice, focused on outcomes rather than alignment with camps.

For those of us engaged daily in Angola–Zambia relations, the corridor is not a slogan. It is a standing agenda item in bilateral meetings, technical discussions, and private sector engagements. Progress may not always make headlines, but it is real.

The Lobito Corridor is being built step by step through diplomacy, investment, and coordination. Its success will be measured not only by tonnes moved, but by whether it lowers the price of mealie meal, allows traders to move chikanda more easily, connects farmers to markets, and links communities to opportunity. That is the work now underway.

-Dr. Elias Munshya is Zambia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Angola.