Chakwera woo investors at the Malawi Partners Conference in USA

New York, September 23, Mana: President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has urged potential investors in the United States of America (USA) that Malawi is the best investment destination with resilient economic growth, stable and peaceful country.

The President said this on Sunday evening at the Martinique Hotel in New York during a second edition of the Malawi-Partners Conference, held on the margins of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Addressing the potential investors, Chakwera said Malawi has 5.3 million hectares of arable land, representing 45 percent of its total land area; adding that the country has abundant water resources, coupled with several major river systems.

In addition, President Chakwera told the would-be investors that Malawi has access to a market of over 100 million people in the SADC and COMESA regions.

"We have a visionary, stable, democratic political leadership which are all key to creating an enabling environment for public and private funding investments in an open economy," he said.

The Malawi leader said the country has also recently developed a One-Stop Service Centre for investment and trade Promotion through the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC), adding that Malawi has a large, highly educated, skilled, hardworking, trainable workforce.

The Malawi leader further said that the country is also a gold mine of agricultural experience, flooded with untapped specific projects and economic opportunities waiting to be explored.

Amid catastrophic climate and health-related shocks, Chakwera said his government continues to lay a solid foundation for Malawi’s prosperity.

“Malawi is not only a land of opportunities, but also a nation ready to meet the global demand for high-quality products. We have a web of rivers and lakes, and arable land that is fit-for-purpose of high-value agricultural production zones,” he added.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi who also attended the conference echoed his counterpart’s sentiment by assuring potential investors that Malawi is endowed with so many natural resources which he said are conducive for investment.

"I would like to agree with my brother here that just like in Malawi, agriculture also plays a critical role in Mozambique and Africa as a whole in terms of providing primary source of livelihood, and income to the majority of the population. I encourage you to come and invest in Malawi because they have what it takes in terms of marketing among others," he said.

The first edition of the Malawi-Partners Conference was also held at the same venue and some of the fruits of the conference include the ongoing construction of the Magwero Industrial Park near Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) whose resources were committed by the Afreximbank at that time.

Other commitments from last year’s conference that have materialized include the World Bank-financed Regional Climate Resilience Program, IFAD-funded Sustainable Agriculture Productivity Program, and the Building Education Foundation Project that the Global Partnership for Education is financing.

The 2024 edition of the Malawi-Partners conference was held under the theme “Securing Our Future: Enhancing Investment in Agriculture for Sustainable Food Security.”