Zambia and Ireland deepen cooperation in technology, creative arts, agriculture and STEM
Zambia and Ireland have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in key development sectors following high-level talks between the Aidan Fitzpatrick, Ireland’s Ambassador to Zambia, and Felix Mutati, Minister of Technology and Science.
The Ambassador paid a courtesy call on the Minister, during which the two leaders held what were described as constructive and forward-looking discussions, identifying priority areas for immediate collaboration, including creative arts, agriculture, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Welcoming the engagement, Mr Mutati praised Ireland’s continued support to Zambia’s creative arts sector, particularly initiatives at Evelyn Hone College. He emphasised the need to expand this cooperation to nurture Zambia’s growing creative industry, noting its importance for cultural expression, youth empowerment and economic development.
On agriculture, the Minister outlined Zambia’s ambition to export beef worth US$1 billion annually. He noted that Ireland is ranked among the world’s top ten beef-producing nations, making it a strategic partner in beef science, production and value-chain development. As part of this drive, Government plans to designate a new polytechnic in Mumbwa to specialise in beef production, with technical and knowledge support from Ireland.
Mr Mutati further explained that Zambia is developing specialised polytechnics across the country, including Lufwanyama Polytechnic for precious stone mining, Nortec for mining, and Mkushi Polytechnic for crop production.
Both parties also underscored the importance of strengthening STEM education, innovation and creativity, recognising the role of young people in developing solutions to global challenges. Mr Mutati said Zambia was keen to collaborate with Ireland’s established STEM programmes and institutions to reinforce its national STEM foundation.
The Minister proposed the development of a concise framework of cooperation to guide implementation, track progress and gradually expand collaboration into additional sectors.
He also expressed gratitude to the Irish Government for its continued support to youth creativity, including musical and performance programmes showcased at national events such as the Zambia International Trade Fair.
In his remarks, Ambassador Fitzpatrick reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to deepening its partnership with Zambia, describing the meeting as productive and noting the strong foundation already established through collaboration at Evelyn Hone College.
He said Ireland was keen to scale up cooperation in the creative arts, building on Zambia’s rich cultural heritage and exceptional talent.
On agriculture, the Ambassador highlighted Ireland’s significant investment in the science of beef production and expressed readiness to support Zambia’s proposed beef-focused polytechnic, particularly in skills development and applied research.
Regarding youth and innovation, he pointed to Ireland’s long-running youth science programme, which has been in existence for more than six decades and adapted in other countries.
He said Ireland was interested in exploring how lessons from the programme could complement Zambia’s Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists (JETS) initiative.
Concluding his remarks, Ambassador Fitzpatrick commended Minister Mutati’s leadership and vision, reiterating Ireland’s willingness to partner with Zambia in its development journey.
He noted Zambia’s growing regional and global profile, strong investment in education and science, and progress in sectors such as tourism, adding that Ireland looked forward to making a meaningful contribution to Zambia’s continued growth in the years ahead.
