Chapo addressing the delegates at the business luncheon at BICC
* For meaningful development to take place, government should work together with the private sector to attract investors
* Malawi and Mozambique need to attract foreign and local investments that can speed economic development in the two countries
By Sheminah Nkhoma, MANA
President of the Republic of Mozambique, Daniel Francisco Chapo, has urged Malawi and Mozambique business community to continue investing in both countries to support the economic growth of the two countries.
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Speaking this afternoon a luncheon meeting at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, Chapo said Malawi and Mozambique hold good relations — hence the need to facilitate business in various sectors of development.
He said for meaningful development to take place, government should work together with the private sector to attract investors.
“Malawi and Mozambique need to attract foreign and local investments that can speed economic development in the two countries,” said Chapo. “We need to iron out barriers that hinder smooth trade activities.”
Minister of Trade & Industry, Vitumbiko Mumba described the meeting as a significant step in promoting cross border trade, saying Africa has come to realise that economic growth is achievable through trade and investment and not aid.
Tomorrow, Chapo and his host President Lazarus Chakwera will jointly launch of the Dedza/Colamue One-Stop Border Post in Dedza District, which Minister Mumba described as “proof of the commitment between the two countries”, adding that
“Malawi and Mozambique are strengthening their bilateral trade relations to promote cross border trade”.
Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (MCCCI) president, Wisely Phiri said it is important to empower small & medium enterprises (SMEs) and young entrepreneurs as they have the potential to develop a country’s economic growth.
MCCCI president Wisely Phiri.—Pictures by Picksson Chipeso, MANA
He said young people in Malawi and Mozambique have the capability to change their nations through trade and industry.
The meeting brought together representatives from various business sectors in Malawi and Mozambique.
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Soon after landing at Kamuzu International Airport this morning for his two-day State Visit to Malawi, President Chapo paid a courtesy call at Malawi National Assembly where he planted a soldier tree within the Parliament grounds as a symbol of friendship and cooperation.
He also visited Kamuzu Mausoleum in Lilongwe where he laid a wreath at the in honour of Malawi’s first president, the late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda and thereafter held bilateral relations with President Lazarus Chakwera at Kamuzu Palace.
Chakwera underscored the need for continued strengthened bilateral relations between Malawi and Mozambique to enhance economic development, saying the relationship between the two countries are based on shared values, common identity and good neighborliness which serve a platform for strengthening the relations.
“President Chapo’s visit marks a 50-year anniversary of the relationship that has existed between Malawi and Mozambique and is a significant milestone and occasion worth celebrating,” he said.
He added that Chapo’s visit to Malawi — within less than six months of his election into office — is a testament to the strong and cordial bilateral relations and also serves as an assurance that he will build on the foundation that former President, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, had laid in strengthening the relationship between Malawi and Mozambique.
He, therefore, pledged his support to ensure that President Chapo’s tenure of office is successful and meets the desired expectations of the people of Mozambique.
As a way of further cementing the relationship between the two countries, President Chakwera and Chapo signed three bilateral agreements which are expected to enhance export trade, air travel and ICT services.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nancy Tembo, stated that Chapo’s visit signifies the significance of the relations between the two countries.
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The visit proceeds the 14th Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation (JPCC) meeting in which the two countries reaffirmed their enduring bilateral relations which predate; independence and expressed renewed commitment to deepening cooperation for mutual prosperity.
The meeting highlighted on improving infrastructure, trade, fast track Malawi’s connectivity in the area of electricity as well as ICT.—Additional reporting by Rosalia Kapiri & Eunice Disi Lole, MANA; edited by Maravi Express
