By Chikondi Chimala, in Beijing, China
Beijing, September 1, Mana: Malawi's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, Allan Chintedza, expressed optimism on Sunday about the outcomes of the upcoming 4th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, scheduled to take place from September 4th to 6th.
In an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana), Chintedza stated that Malawi stands to benefit from the outcomes agreed upon at the summit, following the conclusion of the previous framework that was in effect from 2021 and has now ended.
Said Chintedza: “As Malawi we will take advantage of the discussions to get opportunities in Agriculture, Mining and Tourism as key priorities, as we seek to diversify the economy to spar development for the country as espoused by President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.
“We have to make sure that our interests as Malawi are actually agreed upon at this particular summit because if they are not taken into consideration at this summit in terms of our priority areas then we won’t be able to benefit from the next three year programme.”
The Malawi envoy also said it was important that President Chakwera accepted the invitation from Chinese President, Xi Jinping, as it will ensure that Malawi has a say at the table with its focus on agricultural modernization and mechanization, tourism and mining.
The meeting of the Heads of State and Government will be preceded by meetings of senior officials and the Ninth Ministerial Conference on 1st and 2nd September respectively which will look at technical and policy issues for recommendation for adoption by the heads of state.
The 2024 Summit will among others focus on building relations and cooperation in supporting Africa’s industrialization, energy and trade as a priority, talent development, accelerating agricultural modernization, belt and road cooperation and agenda 2063 of the African Union, modernization and mutual learning among civilizations, political, peace, and security cooperation as well as poverty reduction.
President Chakwera is expected to arrive on Monday in China and is expected to hold bilateral talks with Xi Jinping and also hold meetings with various industry captains and partners with a view for fostering developments in Malawi.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo and Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda will attend the ministers meeting that will develop the framework for cooperation.
FOCAC was instituted in 2020 to foster relations between China and the 53 African nations and the African Union (AU) and is held every six years while the minister’s conference is held every three years.
