Rev. Dr. Elias Munshya

By Dr. Elias Munshya

On Sunday, 11 January, during my working visit to the port city of Lobito in Benguela Province, my team took me to Baía Farta, a coastal town where the Atlantic Ocean meets the daily hustle of ordinary Angolans.

There, I met a group of young fishermen—Eduardo, José, and Jean Baptiste—preparing their nets as dusk approached. They were getting ready to head out to sea, just as young men in Milenge or along Kariba do back home in Zambia. Different waters, same courage. Different tides, same hard work.

Standing by the Atlantic, I was reminded that Zambia is a land-linked nation. Yet through the Lobito Corridor, we are deeply connected to this ocean. That is why, for me, the corridor is not only about ports, rail, and tonnage. It is about how infrastructure touches the grassroots.

Good transport infrastructure opens up markets and choice. It means that when these young fishermen go to sea, they do so with a market in mind—not only in Benguela or Angola, but beyond. With the Lobito Corridor railway extending inland to Chingola, where I come from, fish caught in the Atlantic, properly preserved or dried, can reach consumers hundreds of kilometres away.

It also means something equally important: choice for the consumer. Even as Zambia draws fish from Kariba, the Luangwa, or Luapula, a family in Chingola can now supplement their taste with fish from the Atlantic. Trade enables choice. Choice improves livelihoods. Livelihoods sustain dignity.

Listening to these young fishermen, I heard echoes of Luapula—long nights on the water, patience, resilience, and hope that tomorrow’s catch will be better. With reliable infrastructure, their entrepreneurial spirit expands. Their reach grows. Their horizon moves.

This is why Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are investing in the Lobito Corridor. Not just to move goods—but to connect people, expand opportunity, and make regional trade real at the level where it matters most.

I left Baía encouraged, and my new friends hopeful—clearer on why this corridor is not an abstract idea, but a shared future carried on rails from the Atlantic to the heart of our region.

Dr. Elias Munshya is Zambia’s Ambassador to Angola.