President Edgar Lungu says he hopes to work with the United States government to seek alternative sources of energy.

Speaking during a bilateral meeting he held with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Matthew Harrington on the margins of the ongoing 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Tuesday, President Lungu acknowledged that climate change had affected hydro-powered sources of energy in Zambia.

“There are also other areas where we can work together, such as tourism, agriculture and energy. Energy, we are talking about alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar, climate change has affected hydro-energy not only in Zambia, but other countries in the region as well. This is one area we are looking forward to working together with the US government,” President Lungu said.

He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to enhancing existing relations with the United States for mutual benefit.

President Lungu said his government was willing to work with the US government at bilateral and multilateral levels to enhance cooperation in order to attain the goals set out in the Vision 2030 along with the 7th National Development Plan.

He acknowledged the deep-rooted relations between Zambia and the US and reaffirmed his desire to further strengthen economic, health, infrastructure and education cooperation between the two countries.

President Lungu noted that the US had been a great partner of Zambia and remained the largest cooperating partner having provided more than US $3 billion in development assistance since independence in 1964.

He expressed gratitude for the US government’s continued support for Zambia’s developmental programmes in the health, water and sanitation, infrastructure development, education and capacity building.

President Lungu commended the US for complementing government’s efforts to improve the welfare of the Zambian people through the work of various agencies, such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States President Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).

The Head of State expressed satisfaction at the successful completion of the US-funded US $355 million Lusaka Water, Sanitation and Drainage project, which had benefited over 190,000 Lusaka residents, adding that it had greatly decreased the prevalence of water-borne related diseases.

Meanwhile, President Lungu held talks with Chairman of the Tudor Investment Corporation and owner of Mushingashi game farm, Paul Tudor Jones to discuss potential areas of investment in the tourism sector in Zambia.