Chakwera and Nyusi agree to enhance cooperation between Malawi and Mozambique
Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera and his Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi, have agreed to strengthen their cooperation with a special focus on trade, security, transport, energy, and diplomacy.
The agreement heralds a new dawn for Malawi and Mozambique, which have been at a spat over decades.
The spat got worse during the time of late President Bingu Wa Mutharika when Malawi was trying to find a direct route to the Indian Ocean through the Shire-Zambezi Waterway Project.
The project failed to take off after Malawi throw away all diplomatic protocols and cooperation etiquette and side lined its critical partner, Mozambique in the project.
However, President Chakwera has taken advantage of his four-day State Visit to Mozambique to mend the broken relationship.
The visit has been described as historic considering the tension that has been prevalent between the two neighbours.
On Friday, Chakwera held one-on-one deliberations with President Nyusi where the two discussed a range of issues of interest that would help drive socio-economic development for the two countries.
President Chakwera also led talks involving the delegates of the two countries where a commitment was made for immediate actions on all the issues agreed.
“The discussions centred around how the two countries should fortify cooperation in areas of trade, security, transport, energy and diplomacy. Both sides have agreed to continue collaborating to fully harness opportunities and address existing bottlenecks for the betterment of our people,” said President Chakwera after the two meetings.
The Malawi team during the talks included Ministers of Trade Mark Katsonga-Phiri, Energy Ibrahim Matola, Foreign Affairs Hon Nancy Tembo, as well as deputy ministers of Defence Harry Mkandawire and Transport Nancy Chaola-Mdoko).
Earlier, President Chakwera and the First Lady went to the Heroes Acre Monument in Maputo, where they paid homage to the fallen heroes of Mozambican freedom fight.
During the State Visit, the President on Thursday launched the Malawi-Mozambique Interconnector Transmission line and had a tour of the Nacala Port which vital for realisation of the full operational potential of the Nacala Corridor.
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