Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Information and Media, Thabo Kawana, said Zambia should shift away from aid dependency and pursue partnerships based on equality and shared economic interests.

“Africa is no longer a place to look to to provide aid, but it’s a continent to look to to get into partnership to understand that the minerals that we have, the resources that we have, are needed for development both in Africa and out of Africa, and therefore there is a need for the world to come and play with Africa as partners,” Kawana stated.

Economist Yusuf Dodi said Zambia’s position as one of Africa’s leading copper producers gives the country leverage in negotiations with foreign investors.

“We hold the cards. So we don’t have to agree with any investor who comes to Zambia and puts their demands on the table. We should be doing the opposite. We should be setting the agenda and saying, ‘If you want to invest in Zambia, this is what you need to comply with’,” Dodi said.

Copper remains central to Zambia’s economy and is increasingly important globally because of its use in green energy technologies and infrastructure.

In 2025, Zambia produced 890,346 metric tonnes of copper. The government is targeting more than 1 million metric tonnes in 2026 and aims to increase annual production to 3 million metric tonnes by 2031.

Despite support for reducing foreign dependency, health experts warned that external funding continues to play a major role in supporting healthcare systems and public services.

“Our plan is that it should be done in a smooth and gradual, mutually respectful manner so that we are able to keep the gains, at the same time, we are able to transition into local or domestically generated resources,” said Masiku Phiri, President of the Medical Association of Zambia.

Zambia is not the only African country to raise concerns about such agreements. Zimbabwe and Ghana also rejected similar deals over issues linked to privacy and data-sharing, while a Kenyan court suspended a comparable arrangement after legal challenges argued that it violated data protection laws.

Outgoing US ambassador to Zambia Michael Gonzales denied claims that Washington was linking health funding to access to critical minerals .

He described the accusations as “disgusting and patently false.”