Zambia declared its independence on 24 October 1964. Turkish Government accredited its Embassy in Nairobi (opened on 30 March 1968) to Zambia. From 1994 to 2011, Turkish Embassy in Pretoria became accredited to Zambia. Turkiye-Zambia relations gained momentum following the opening of the Turkish Embassy in Lusaka in 2011 and the Zambian Embassy in Ankara in 2013. Turkish Embassy in Lusaka is accredited to Malawi and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) based in Lusaka.

The first ever Presidential visit from Turkiye was the visit of H.E. President Erdoğan to Zambia in 2018, which has contributed to further relations in all fields. During the visit 15 agreements were signed and the Foreign Economic Relations Board DEIK of Turkiye with the participation of Turkish and Zambian business people and representatives of the related institutions organized meetings chaired by the Ministers of Trade.

Visits were realized from Zambia to Turkiye at the levels of the President (at a bilateral level in 2010 and at the margins of an international events in 2011 and 2018), the Minister of Foreign Affairs (in 2014, 2020, 2021) and other Ministerial levels. The first meeting of Political Consultations was held in Lusaka in 2013 and the second in 2018 in Ankara.

The two countries are working closely to enhance their collaborative relations in the fields of agriculture, tourism, health, education, energy, mining, infrastructure among others. Türkiye contributes to Zambia’s development agenda.

The trade volume between Turkiye and Zambia in 2020 was at the level of 23 Million USD. Türkiye’s export to Zambia was worth 18.5 Million USD, whereas its import from Zambia was worth 4.5 Million USD.

The main export commodities of the Turkish companies to Zambia are machinery and appliances, tools and their parts, used textile, iron and steel products, appliances and their spare parts. Carpets and furniture are other export items. Exports to Zambia are costly due to logistic costs and long duration of the process. Turkish imports from Zambia are mainly tobacco and tobacco refuse.

The Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation signed on 15 December 2011 establishes the Joint Economic Commission (JEC). (First JEC meeting was organized on 12-13 February 2020 in Lusaka.) Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkiye and Zambia Development Agency agreed on the formation of the Turkish-Zambia Business Council with the Memorandum of Understanding they signed in 2016. The Council had its first meeting on 20 June 2018 in Lusaka. On this occasion, the Turkish firms visiting Zambia hosted the first B2B meeting as well.

There are 25 agreements signed between Türkiye and Zambia to date.

Through Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), Türkiye is providing development assistance to Zambia in various domains.

The Turkish Airlines have started flights between Istanbul and Lusaka on 14 December 2018, which was suspended in March 2020 due to covid-19.

Since 1992, government of Turkiye grants scholarships to the Zambian students. The number of Zambian students benefitting from Turkiye Scholarships program has reached 176.