ZAMBIA President Hakainde Hichilema has said his country and Tanzania must leverage on their historic relationship, to maximize benefits to the people of the two neighbouring nations.

"Zambia and Tanzania can't stay apart a day, we would work on structures (so) that we interact every day, weekly, monthly, and yearly. It starts with us (Presidents) and also through our ministers, permanent secretaries and ordinary Zambians and Tanzanians because that is how God has placed us... we share land," President Hichilema remarked, who arrived in the country on Tuesday for a one-day state visit.

President Hichilema, who became Zambia's president on August 4, 2021, said Zambia and Tanzania are bonded together by history: "We are the generation which has the heritage of a relationship that was built before us, so it is our duty to nurture it."

He explained that the two nations have a political relationship which the current leaders have a duty to bolster and sustain, as the founding visionary leaders carved for them.

"My sister (President Samia Suluhu Hassan) and I, have agreed to reinvigorate these relationships and really leverage on them, we must maximize the benefits that we derived from this foundation that our leaders invested so much at the time," he stated after holding official talks with his host, President Samia at the Magogoni State House.

He went further shedding light on cultural relationship between people of the two countries, saying: "When you go to a place like Tunduma or Nakonde, we have family members there that one could be Zambian and the other is Tanzanian. So, Tanzania is our second home and for Tanzanians, Zambia is their second home."

On the other hand, President Hichilema said the two countries were looking forward to leveraging in the regional bodies East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Great Lakes Region among others.

He said the two countries want to maximize the benefits that they accrue from the regional blocs.