LUSAKA — Zambia’s Defense Minister has moved the country’s security partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo from being just a military protocol to being a key part of the region’s economic goals.
On Tuesday, during high-level talks in Lusaka with Guy Muadiamvita, DR Congo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Defense Minister Ambrose Lufuma made that point clear. The two countries were trying to strengthen their partnership, which has been put to the test by instability on their shared border.
Lufuma told his Congolese counterpart, “Zambia is ready to work closely with the Democratic Republic of Congo to promote peace, stability, and mutual security.” These words had both diplomatic and economic weight.
The main point of the talks was a clear admission: the ongoing war in eastern DR Congo is no longer a distant problem; it is affecting trade flows, border communities, and investment confidence in Zambia.
Lufuma was very clear about what was at stake. He warned that insecurity along the shared border has direct effects on the economies of neighboring countries, putting the very corridors that keep regional trade going at risk. The Kasumbalesa and Kipushi crossings are the most important of these. They are two of Central and Southern Africa’s most important trade routes, and Lufuma called them lifelines that must be actively protected.
The minister said, “Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo share more than a border. We share history, culture, and families.” This refers to the strong ties that have existed between the two countries for a long time, especially among border communities where people move around all the time and are very connected.
Lufuma agreed that the current framework needs to change to keep up with the quickly changing security situation, even though he admitted that current defense cooperation has led to measurable improvements in border coordination. He said that new threats require the defense and security institutions of the two countries to work together more quickly and for longer periods of time.
The bilateral meeting in Lusaka is part of a larger regional reckoning. Zambia is becoming more of a stability-minded player in Central African affairs because it knows that its own economy is closely linked to the security situation across its northern border.
