LUSAKA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Wednesday pledged to continue supporting Zambia in strengthening its public finance management in order to improve accountability and utilization of public resources.

Gianluca Azzoni, Head of Cooperation at EU delegation to Zambia, said the organization was delighted to have contributed to the strengthening of Zambia's public finance management through training of public officers under its capacity building support to the Ministry of Finance.

The EU, he said, was hopeful that the finance ministry will uphold reforms in public finance management as it was cardinal in ensuring prudent utilization of resources.

"We are confident that the Ministry of Finance is fully committed to the reforms and the activities that have been supported under the program in order to ensure the sustainability of the results achieved," he said at the completion of the first part of the capacity development program.

The EU provided 1 million Euros in the first part of the project which ran from 2015 to March this year and saw the training of 75 public workers dealing with public finance.

The capacity development program was one segment of a broader European Development Fund program for Zambia's public finance management, accountability and statistics.

Fredson Yamba, the Secretary to the Treasury, hoped that the EU will consider further support to strengthen the country's public finance management.