By Stanley Nkhondoyachepa

Lilongwe, May 23, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera says plans are underway for the Government of Iceland to expand the Basic Social Services Program (BSSP) it is implementing in Malawi to a third district.

He was speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Thursday during a joint press briefing held at the end of a five-day official visit to Malawi by the Prime Minister of Iceland, Bjarni Benediktsson.

Chakwera recalled that last year his government signed a partnership financing agreement to implement the Nkhotakota Basic Social Services Program (KKBSP) with the government of Iceland which is implementing a similar program in Mangochi.

“I have appealed to the Prime Minister to expand the program, and I am happy to report that plans are underway to mutually identify a third district where Iceland can implement the Basic Social Services Program in line with the Malawi 2063,” he said.

The President hailed the cordial relationship that has existed between Malawi and Iceland for 35 years, describing it as fruitful. 

He said he invited the Prime Minister to Malawi to personally express his profound appreciation and that of this government and the people of Malawi, for the unwavering support that Iceland has provided to Malawi, and also to commemorate together the 35 years of fruitful and development cooperation between the two countries.

“Thirdly, I wanted him to see for himself the tremendous impact that the money from the taxpayers of Iceland is making in Malawi as a result of the unique and targeted approach that his country adopted in Malawi which receives more development support than any other country,” he said.

Benediktsson said he was pleased to see the tangible results of his government joint cooperation with Malawi, and pledged to expand the services to a third district.

He said his government is committed to continue supporting Malawi’s development efforts in various areas such as health, education and water and sanitation, among others, conditioned on continued accountability.

During his visit, Benediktsson, who arrived on May 19 May, 2024 through Kamuzu International Airport visited Koche Primary School and Mangochi District Maternity wing which are some of the projects supported by his government.