By Linda Kwanjana
Minister of Information and Digitalization Moses Kunkuyu, has commended the private sector in the country for supporting President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera trip to Saud Arabia for the Saudi Africa Summit.
Addressing the media in Lilongwe , Kunkuyu said the Chakwera Government has received overwhelming support from various companies and organizations.
Some of the companies which have supported the trip to Saudi Arabia include; Standard Bank, UNDP, RBM, Illovo, GIZ, EDF Adams Wholesalers, and NICO.
The ministry says the Government is aware that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was announced on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, the postponement of the 5th Arab-Africa Summit due to the current situation in Gaza.
The Summit was supposed to be held in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on November 11, 2023.
During the same period, His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera is also supposed to attend the first Saudi-Africa Summit.
Kunkuyu said it must be noted that two events, the Saudi-Africa Summit and the Africa-Arab Summit were planned to take place consecutively.
“The Saudi-Africa Summit is going ahead with other African Heads of State and this is the summit that is critical to the signing of the Mangochi-Makanjira Road construction agreement,” he said.
The Mangochi-Makanjira Road will be financed by the Saudi Fund for Development.
The Saudi Fund for Development is a Saudi Arabian government agency that provides development assistance to developing countries by financing social and infrastructure projects and it is not under the Arab-Africa Summit or Arab League.
“Therefore, the President’s travel is hinged on the Saudi-Malawi relationship and cancellation of the Arab-Africa Summit changes nothing as it has no impact on the critical business to be undertaken by the President, ” he said.
Kunkuyu said the Saudi-Africa summit is crucial to development aspirations of the nation.
