Story by Mercy Bofu-Matinha
ZIMBABWE and Malawi are keen on improving trade ties, leveraging on the existing good relations between the two countries.
Vice President Kembo Mohadi, who was in Malawi for the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian centenary celebrations, paid a courtesy call on Malawi President, Dr Lazarus Chakwera at his Kamuzu Palace Sunday evening.
Emerging from the meeting, Vice President Mohadi said they agreed on the need to strengthen trade relations between Zimbabwe and Malawi.
“We discussed the bilateral ties, that is the relations between the two countries. We spoke about the trade that we are not happy with, I don’t think we are doing much on both sides. So we said the next Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation which could be coming shortly, we need to sit down and see how we can improve on our trade relations. We have got quite a number of memoranda that we signed and most of them are not being implemented, so we need to see to it why they are not implemented. We must make sure that implementation is done,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mohadi has described his tour of duty as a success, adding that the Malawian President applauded Zimbabwe’s developmental trajectory calling for the unconditional removal of illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the West.
He added, “My visit here was a great success, especially after a very productive meeting with Dr Chakwera where we discussed bilateral, regional and continental issues. The message from Dr Chakwera to Zimbabweans is that we are doing more than what they were expecting when they visited for the SADC summit. He even said that we are doing better than those countries that are not under sanctions.”
It also emerged Zimbabwe and Malawi discussed the importance of supporting their respective candidates vying for leadership positions at international organisations.
The Zimbabwe Mission in Malawi is also facilitating frequent exchange visits under the banner of trade and investment activities.
The mission is working in close collaboration with the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre to forge synergies aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between Malawi and Zimbabwe.
