EUReflect Meets the Ambassador of Zambia in Brussels

The meeting was held on behalf of both EUReflect and the Global Tourism Forum (GTF), and centred on a formal invitation for the Ambassador and the Zambian delegation to take part in the GTF Annual Meeting 2026, which will be hosted in Brussels on 9–10 November 2026.

A distinguished interlocutor

Ambassador Chirwa is one of the most senior African envoys in Brussels. She presented her Letters of Credence to His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium in June 2025, and in May 2026 secured full accreditation to both the European Council and the European Commission, presenting her credentials to Council President António Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — placing Zambia among the small group of countries accredited to both institutions.

Her diplomatic agenda has consistently linked Zambia's economic diplomacy to European partnership: the Lobito Corridor as a transport and logistics lifeline, cooperation on critical raw materials, opportunities under the EU Global Gateway, and expanded access for Zambian copper, critical minerals and agricultural products to the EU single market of more than 450 million consumers.

Tourism as the next frontier

The conversation with EUReflect turned naturally to a sector that sits alongside mining and agriculture in Zambia's development story: tourism. Home to Victoria Falls, the South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi national parks, and a walking-safari tradition that the country effectively invented, Zambia possesses assets of genuine global calibre — but ones that remain under-marketed in European source markets compared with regional competitors.

That gap is precisely what the Global Tourism Forum exists to close. The GTF Annual Meeting 2026 will convene more than 2,000 high-level delegates over two days at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, with at least five Heads of State and dozens of ministers expected, and Euronews serving as Official Global Media Partner.

The 2026 edition is built around two linked themes — Investment Confidence and Security Confidence — captured in the Forum's motto,"Where confidence becomes cooperation." Day one is organised around investment; day two around security and trust. The programme includes sessions mapping where global tourism capital is moving next, and how destinations convert ambitious masterplans into bankable, investment-ready projects — a question of direct relevance to Zambian tourism infrastructure.

Running alongside the Annual Meeting, the World Tourism Awards 2026 ceremony will celebrate excellence and leadership shaping the future of global tourism.

Why Brussels, why now

Brussels was chosen as host precisely because it is the political heart of Europe — the natural setting in which to connect global tourism stakeholders with European institutions, international organisations and private-sector decision-makers. For Zambia, whose mission in Brussels now enjoys unusually broad accreditation across the EU institutions, the Forum offers a platform where investment promotion, destination branding and diplomatic outreach converge in a single venue.

Building on the 2025 Brussels edition — which drew over 2,000 delegates from more than 50 countries, 70+ speakers, and roughly 100,000 online viewers — the 2026 gathering is designed as an expanded edition with stronger political participation and a sharper investment focus.

EUReflect's role

EUReflect works to give under-represented voices, cultures and destinations a genuine presence in European public and diplomatic conversation, through media coverage, conferences, cultural programming and institutional outreach. The meeting with Ambassador Chirwa forms part of that mission: connecting an African diplomatic mission in Brussels with a global tourism platform on its doorstep, and ensuring that Zambia's story is told in Europe on Zambia's own terms.

Both sides expressed a shared interest in continued engagement, including the possibility of Zambian participation in Forum sessions and in future EUReflect cultural and media initiatives in Belgium.