India Signs Trade Cooperation Pact with Zambia to Boost Cooperative Sector Exports

India has taken a strategic step to deepen its trade relations with Africa by signing a trade cooperation agreement with Zambia aimed at strengthening exports from the cooperative sector. The pact, formalised in July 2025, enhances bilateral collaboration to open new market opportunities for Indian cooperatives specialising in agriculture, processed foods, handicrafts, and other small-scale industries. This initiative forms part of India’s wider effort to diversify its export destinations and build resilient trade partnerships beyond traditional markets.

The Ministry of Cooperation, led by Union Minister Amit Shah, has been actively working to expand the export ecosystem of Indian cooperatives by leveraging diplomatic missions across key global regions. These missions play a critical role in gathering vital market intelligence, providing up-to-date trade information, and connecting Indian cooperative enterprises with overseas importers interested in their products. The partnership with Zambia thus represents an important milestone in this endeavour, joining other recent agreements with countries such as Senegal and Indonesia.

India’s cooperative sector encompasses a large network of rural and community-based enterprises that contribute substantially to employment, inclusive growth, and sustainable development. By promoting cooperative exports, the government aims to boost incomes for small farmers and producers, while simultaneously increasing foreign exchange earnings and strengthening India’s global trade footprint.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Zambia underlines mutual commitments to the exchange of goods, services, and technical know-how. It also provides a platform for facilitating trade alliances and creating a seamless pipeline for cooperative products. Both countries foresee opportunities to enhance product standards, adopt international quality benchmarks, and better understand global consumer demand trends.

Zambia, rich in natural resources and strategically positioned as a gateway to Southern Africa, offers significant market growth potential for Indian cooperative exports. Indian firms and cooperatives will benefit from easier access to the Zambian market and neighbouring countries through this agreement, complementing India’s existing trade and investment ties with the region. The arrangement also encourages joint ventures, technology sharing, and capacity building, strengthening the broader economic relationship.

In recent years, India has substantially invested in Zambia across sectors including mining, infrastructure, telecommunications, and banking, establishing a robust foundation for deeper commercial engagement. The new trade cooperation pact with a focus on the cooperative sector complements these investments by broadening the scope of bilateral economic linkages to grassroots enterprises and emerging industries.

The government’s National Cooperative Exports Ltd (NCEL) has been pivotal in operationalising India’s cooperative export strategy. Through NCEL, India facilitates trade facilitation services such as market promotion, product aggregation, quality certification, and compliance assistance. The agency collaborates closely with Indian missions abroad to ensure that cooperatives receive actionable market insights and connect with relevant buyers, thus reducing entry barriers in unfamiliar international markets.

The pact with Zambia coincides with India’s broader trade diversification policy, seeking to reduce dependence on traditional export destinations faced with tariff disruptions and geopolitical uncertainties. Strengthening ties with African nations through cooperative sector collaboration is strategic for India, which aims to tap into rapidly growing consumer markets, leverage complementary production capabilities, and forge sustainable trade partnerships aligned with mutual development goals.

Looking ahead, both nations plan to organise trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, and capacity-building workshops to maximise cooperative exports’ potential. India is also exploring means to facilitate financing and credit support for cooperative exporters entering new markets. Digital initiatives are being expanded to enable e-commerce participation and access to global value chains, which are critical for small and medium cooperative enterprises.

Overall, the India-Zambia cooperation pact marks a meaningful advancement in international trade diplomacy with a focus on empowering inclusive economic growth through cooperative enterprise export promotion. It reflects India’s commitment to leveraging its extensive cooperative network as a key driver of export-led growth and poverty alleviation while fostering South-South trade and investment ties.