President Lazarus Chakwera leaves Malawi today for Saudi Arabia where he will attend the First Saudi-Africa Summit and the 5th Arab-Africa Summit.
Briefing reporters in Lilongwe Tuesday, government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu said the two summits will be held on November 10 and 11, respectively.
Kunkuyu said from Saudi Arabia, Chakwera will proceed to Cairo, Egypt, for the Intra- African Trade Fair on November 13.
While in Saudi Arabia, Chakwera will also witness the signing of a $20 million (K22 billion) loan agreement between Malawi and the Saudi Fund for Development for the construction of the Mangochi- Makanjira Road.
Kunkuyu said the 5th Arab- Africa Summit presents an opportunity for the two sides to deliberate on their political, economic and social relations.
“It presents prospects for Africa to collaborate with Arab states in uplifting the living standards of the African continent and also reach out beyond its jurisdiction in advancing its interests in global affairs…
“The summit is also expected to deliberate on various plans of action that the two sides have jointly formulated and map out their implementation aspects,” Kunkuyu said.
He added that the joint plans of action are focusing on several areas of cooperation such as agricultural development and food security; private sector investment; collaboration in the diversification of African and Arab economies, mostly in areas of hospitality and tourism and energy; infrastructural projects; political peace and security and social and cultural cooperation.
Kunkuyu further said the Intra-Africa Trade Fair provides a unique and valuable platform for businesses to access an integrated African market of over 1.3 billion people with a GDP of over $3.5 trillion created under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“Malawi’s participation at the fair will facilitate market identification and linkages for Malawian businesses, both corporate companies and small and medium enterprises.
“The Malawi delegation will implement a robust exhibition strategy in order to make strategic investment deals,” the government spokesperson said.
In recent months, Chakwera has come under fire from different quarters that have been accusing him of making “too many” international trips while the economy is in bad shape.
Critics have suggested that the President should delegate some of the trips to his ministers.
However, government has defended the trips, saying it is necessary that the President attends in person and that the fruits will be seen “soon”.
