By Kondanani Chilimunthaka
On Tuesday morning, 7th March, 2023 President Lazarus Chakwera met Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen of European Union where the two held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 5th UN Least Developed Countries summit underway in Doha-Qatar where he appealed for quick resumption of direct budgetary support to Malawi.
“It is my appeal that you (EU) expedite the resumption of budgetary support to Malawi. This will help to intensify the flow of forex in Malawi while paving way for greater economic movement for the country.” Appealed President Chakwera.
He further pleaded with the EU through Jutta for substantial support towards cholera epidemic which has hardly hit Malawi, claiming over 1,500 lives with at least 50,000 others being affected at present.
In his remarks, Chakwera hinted that Malawi needs both technical and financial support to have cholera epidemic fully eradicated among its citizens.
On his vision to have mega farms in Malawi, Chakwera requested for technical enhancement and collaboration between his administration and European Union to see the vision’s realization through mechanization.
Turning to a need for Malawi to be connected, President Chakwera reminded delegates on his request that there is a need for establishment of a regional transport corridors for Malawi to be connected to the rest of her neighbours under the Global Gateway, saying it needs to be prioritized as a matter of urgency if Malawi is to attain development it deserves quickly.
Being the outgoing chairman for the Least Developed Countries, President Chakwera told the delegation that there is a great need of exponential growth for the LDCs and domestication of the Doha Programme of Action, lamenting that public debt remains a huge obstacle to their development.
Chakwera then commended the European Union for the assistance it renders to Malawi through various projects including the 56.5 million pounds towards Ulimi ndi Chilengedwe m’Malawi (Greening and Growing Malawi) Programme, 10.5 million pounds, Malawi Energy (Wala Malawi) Programme, and the €17 million Access to Justice (Chilungamo) Project, among many that EU is supporting.
In response, EU through Ms. Urpilainen expressed a great possibility of aligning resumption of the budgetary support towards specific sectors such as education, with a pledge to continue its assistance to Malawi.
