By Chikondi Chimala, in Beijing, China

Beijing, September 6: Mana: President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has described the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), as a highly successful Summit.

Chakwera said the 2024 Summit exceeded his wildest dreams as it produced tangible results that would help transform Malawi in areas that need support including infrastructure development, trade and agriculture among others.

“It was pleasing and exciting to note that China has opened up its huge market with 1.4 billion people as Malawi we will take advantage of this with our Agriculture, Tourism and Marketing (ATM) key priority areas to get a slice of the cake to achieve our much-needed development goals.”

We will take up the initiative focusing on agriculture mechanization, modernisation, industrialisation, and value addition to create a base for driving up our export potential,” said Chakwera.

In an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana), President Chakwera said he was going back to Malawi a happy person and would not rest on his laurels but make sure that Malawi claims a fair share of the cake as promised by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Delivering his keynote address during the opening session of the Summit, Xi Jinping, promised that China would open up its huge market to African exports and also provide support to Africa in 10 technical areas to help improve trade and cooperation between China and Africa as well as offering over $51 billion to support implementation of the specified areas.

Said Xi Jinping: “To implement the ten partnership actions, the Chinese government will provide RMB360 billion yuan of financial support through the next three years. This breaks down into RMB210 billion yuan of credit line, RMB80 billion yuan of assistance in various forms, and at least RMB70 billion yuan of investment in Africa by Chinese companies. In addition, China will encourage and support Africa in issuing panda bonds in China to enhance our results-oriented cooperation in all areas.”

The president also met the management of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) at their headquarters in Beijing who he requested to consider investing in Malawi’s energy sector. 

“Malawi has enormous potential to generate more energy from solar, wind and geothermal sources,” said President Chakwera, who is in China to attend the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit. 

“Your expertise could provide us with the alternative sustainable power sources that we need. We believe that partnering with GEIDCO is crucial for Malawi to further develop the energy sector by utilizing clean energy sources,” he added. 

President Chakwera emphasized that energy is critical for Malawi to realize its Vision 2063, which is being driven through the ATM strategy (Agriculture, Tourism, and Mining). He stated that a minimum electricity demand of 2,200 megawatts for mining, manufacturing, and domestic consumption is necessary.

GEIDCO Chairman and President of the China Electricity Council Xin Baoan said his organisation is ready to collaborate with the Malawi government to create a better future. 

Baoan said his organization is already exploring opportunities to develop Malawi's energy interconnections to foster integrated growth across the “power-mining-metallurgy-manufacturing-marketing” sectors. 

Meanwhile, President Chakwera and the First Lady, Madam Monica Chakwera, have left China through Beijing Capital International Airport and are expected to arrive in Malawi on Saturday.