By Rosalia Kapiri

Lilongwe, January 29, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera returned to Malawi on Wednesday after attending the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania, describing the initiative as a “tremendous boost” for the country’s energy and industrial ambitions.

Upon his arrival at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe, President Chakwera was welcomed by government officials before inspecting a guard of honour mounted by the Malawi Defence Force.

He later addressed the media, emphasizing the significance of Mission 300 in advancing Africa’s energy sector.

“For Mission 300, for Africa generally, it is a milestone. For Malawi, it is a tremendous boost,” Chakwera stated.

He explained that the initiative would help Malawi achieve its goals in power generation, transmission and usage, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, industrialization, mining, and value addition.

“It’s a boost because it will enable us to achieve our goals in terms of power generation, power transmission and the usage of the same for agricultural industrialization, production, value addition, all of the factors we need to have, and mining particularly, a sector that needs power,” he said.

Chakwera highlighted that the agreement provides nearly US$300 million to kick start the process, with Malawi playing a key role.

“I am happy that I was one of the signatories to this particular issue. Now, we have a stepping stone, as it were, to this M300, which is the essence agreement that we have, and we signed for that as well,” he said.

The president also expressed pride in Malawi’s recognition at the summit.

“And our team was commended as an example of which the World Bank, African Development Bank and Rockefeller Foundation desire to have for us as nations and countries on the continent,” Chakwera said.

He emphasizing that Africa must move away from its past energy struggle and make sure that the continent is no longer a dark continent but is lit up.

The Mission 300 initiative aims to accelerate Africa’s transition to sustainable and renewable energy, with global partners supporting infrastructure development and energy access.

Malawi’s participation signals a strategic step toward boosting the country’s economic growth through reliable power supply.