Malawi seeks stronger urban development cooperation with Poland
Malawi’s Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chimwemwe Chipungu, held bilateral talks with Poland’s Deputy Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Jan Szyszko, on the margins of the UN High-Level Meeting on the Midterm Review of the New Urban Agenda in New York on Wednesday.
Chipungu conveyed greetings from President Arthur Peter Mutharika to the government and people of Poland, and acknowledged what he described as the warm and cordial relations the two countries have maintained since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992.
He commended Poland for its economic transformation in recent decades, which he said had positioned it among Europe’s fastest-growing economies.
Setting out Malawi’s development priorities, the minister said the country was implementing its long-term Malawi 2063 vision, which places urbanisation, industrialisation, economic transformation and sustainable infrastructure at its centre.
He said rapid urbanisation presented both opportunities and challenges for Malawi, particularly around housing delivery, urban planning, land administration, infrastructure and service provision, and that government was pursuing reforms aimed at building planned, inclusive and resilient cities in line with the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11.
Chipungu said Malawi was keen to learn from Poland’s experience in regional planning, municipal development and urban regeneration, and proposed technical cooperation between the two ministries in areas including integrated urban planning, affordable housing, land administration, spatial planning, municipal governance and sustainable urban infrastructure.
He said Malawi was in the process of modernising its land administration systems and would welcome cooperation with Poland on digital land registration, cadastral mapping, geographic information systems, land valuation and electronic land information management.
He also highlighted the importance of strengthening institutional capacity through technical exchanges, study visits and training for planners, surveyors, architects and housing professionals.
Beyond technical cooperation, the minister encouraged greater Polish investment in Malawi, particularly in housing construction, urban infrastructure, construction materials, renewable energy, logistics and industrial development, and called for closer collaboration between the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre, the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and their Polish counterparts to facilitate investment and technology transfer.
Chipungu also raised the possibility of expanded cooperation in higher education and technical training linked to urban planning, engineering, architecture and land management, as well as closer collaboration on climate-resilient urban development, including green infrastructure and disaster risk reduction.
He proposed that the two countries negotiate a framework agreement or memorandum of understanding to formalise cooperation and enable regular consultations between the two governments, and encouraged further high-level exchanges between the ministries.
Concluding the meeting, the minister reiterated Malawi’s commitment to deepening its partnership with Poland in pursuit of sustainable urban development and shared prosperity.
