By Linda Kwanjana
All is set for the Saudi-Africa Summit to take place in Saudi Arabia despite a last minute cancellation of the parallel Arab-Africa Summit.
President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is expected to join other African Heads of State at the summit.
This trip is a must for President Chakwera as it will culminate into the signing of the loan agreement between the Malawi government and the Saudi Fund for Development for the construction of the long-awaited Makanjira road.
The importance of President Chakwera’s physical presence at the Saudi-Africa summit and the subsequent witnessing of the loan agreement cannot be overemphasised as it is key to the quick release of the funds for the project.
During his visit to Makanjira last month, President Chakwera stressed that he will do everything possible within his powers to source and secure funds for the project to ease the mobility problems the people of Makanjira have been grappling with due to the dilapidated state of the road.
As an action oriented man, during the visit President Chakwera braved the difficult terrain to Makanjira to have a first hand impression on the challenges people of Makanjira have been facing going and coming from Mangochi.
In his speech on that day, President Chakwera indicated that he will not be lured into the habit of the past of initiating projects without having necessary things such as finances, technical expertise and material for the projects in place.
As the funders of the project are Saudi based, President Chakwera had to take an initiative to go and facilitate the loan agreement for himself without fail.
All this will take place during the sideline of the Saudi-Africa Summit which was already the main agenda of the trip.
While in Saudi Arabia, the Malawi Head of State will hold a number of High-Level talks with different high profile people on the sideline of the summit. According to the Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu, beside signing the loan agreement, President Chakwera will hold talks with the Saudi Fund for Development Chief Executive Officer His Excellency Sultan Al Marshad.
President Chakwera is also expected to have a one-on- one discussion with Yaser Bin Othman Al Rumayyan, Chairman of Saudi Arabia Oil Group and Maedem Mining and Fertilizer Company. The meeting is in line with President Chakwera’s quest to develop Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM) the three sectors that have been identified to have the potential for Malawi’s economic growth.
Initially there was supposed to be an Arab-Africa summit in Riyad over the weekend which has been postponed to a later date. According to the communication from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the postponement of the summit is due to the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict which has directly and indirectly affected some of the Arabic countries which are supposed to be party to the summit.
From Saudi Arabia, President Chakwera will proceed to the Arab Republic of Egypt to attend the 5th Afreximbank Intra-African Trade Summit on 13th November.
This is a must attend summit as well for President Chakwera as it is a follow up to the 30th anniversary of the bank which took place in June this year in Accra, Ghana.The Ghana meeting between President Chakwera and the banks President Benedict Odonto yielded productive results as Malawi secured funding for Mega farms and construction of industrial parks in Blantyre and Lilongwe among others.
