President John Dramani Mahama has proposed a new economic partnership agreement between Ghana and Zambia to help address the high cost of capital confronting African businesses, which he said places them at a disadvantage compared with firms elsewhere.

The proposal was made during bilateral talks at the State House in Lusaka on Thursday, February 5, 2026, as part of President Mahama’s official engagement with his Zambian counterpart, President Hakainde Hichilema. President Mahama said the time had come for the two countries to move beyond traditional political dialogue frameworks and pursue deeper, more practical economic cooperation.

“We have to go beyond political dialogue and go into economic consolidation and bilateral economic relations between our two countries,” President Mahama told President Hichilema.

He said an enhanced framework, beyond existing Permanent Joint Commission arrangements, would allow both countries to exchange practical experiences and respond more effectively to shared economic challenges.

“We believe that a kind of enhanced economic partnership agreement, or whatever you technocrats eventually call it, which is higher than just the political dialogue and the Permanent Joint Commissions, will be the way to go so that we share lived experiences in real time,” he added.

President Hichilema echoed concerns about the structural disadvantages faced by African economies, particularly the cost of financing, which he said continues to undermine competitiveness.

“The continent pays a higher cost of capital than any other continent, even in the same business, similar business, same sector,” he said.

“You can’t accuse us of being inefficient when one element, which is crucial, which is capital, is brought to the continent, to our countries at a much, much higher cost, injecting a higher cost of doing business in our countries,” President Hichilema added.

President Mahama noted that Ghana and Zambia share similar economic trajectories, having both undertaken debt restructuring processes and negotiations with official creditor committees while implementing fiscal consolidation measures.

“There’s a lot that we can learn from each other and a lot of experiences we can share,” he said.

The discussions also covered cooperation in the mining sector, where both countries face challenges linked to artisanal and small-scale mining as well as the operations of multinational companies. The two leaders further explored opportunities for collaboration in agricultural production and cross-border marketing of goods.

While acknowledging the role of the African Continental Free Trade Area in promoting intra-African trade, President Mahama stressed that effective continental integration must be built on strong bilateral relationships.

“We cannot develop continental free trade in a vacuum unless we develop those bilateral relations that will identify what products we can exchange and create the conditions for us to make those exchanges,” he said.

President Mahama also recalled the historical ties between Ghana and Zambia, linking them to the shared vision of their founding leaders.

“Our forebears fought the battle of liberation from colonial domination. And they called for us to come as a united continent instead of different countries,” he said.