Bank President Benedict Oramah, whilst in Lusaka Zambia, announced that the bank would put up an investment of about US$250 million for Zambia's first-ever Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) manufacturing plant. EAC-SADC-COMESA Free Trade Area In July 2022, during the 4th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms in Lusaka, Zambia, the three regional blocs, East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) agreed to have a tripartite ministers' summit to fast track the finalization of the border control-free travel and free movement of goods and services area by the end of 2022. Zambia-China Trade and Investment Forum In September 2022, Zambia and China launched the inaugural trade and investment forum aimed at unlocking trade and investment potential between the two countries. The event also saw the signing of an Exchange Letter of the Duty Free Treatment for Zambian products corresponding to 98-percent of the tariff lines by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Du Xiao. U.S.-Zambia Business Summit In October 2022, more than 50 United States and Zambian business and government leaders gathered in Lusaka for the two-day inaugural U.S.-Zambia Business Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel. Representatives from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation also attended the Summit. The Summit focused on promoting Zambia as one of the most attractive business environments for investment on the African continent. Sectors Mining In 2019, the country was the world's 7th largest producer of copper. The Zambian economy has historically been based on the copper-mining industry. The industrialization of the copper industry is owed partly to Frederick Russell Burnham, the famous American scout who worked for Cecil Rhodes. By 1998, however, output of copper had fallen to a low of 228,000 tonnes, continuing a 30-year decline in output due to lack of investment, and until recently, low copper prices and uncertainty over privatization. In 2001, the first full year of a privatized industry, Zambia recorded its first year of increased productivity since 1973. The future of the copper industry in Zambia was thrown into doubt in January 2002, when investors in Zambia's largest copper mine announced their intention to withdraw their investment. However, surging copper prices from 2004 to the present day rapidly rekindled international interest in Zambia's copper sector with a new buyer found for KCCM and massive