By Patience Longwe

Lilongwe, September 26, Mana: The Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr. Michael Usi, has emphasized the significance of the National Energy Conference held in Lilongwe on Thursday, noting that the conference serves as a critical platform for discussing and committing to actionable solutions to address the country's ongoing energy challenges.

In his remarks during the opening ceremony of the conference at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, Usi stated that the conference should be the benchmark to take stock of our energy development in this country in line with the Malawi 2063.

"As we all know, we are all challenged to take an active role in wealth creation through industrialization as guided by pillar number two of the national development strategy," Usi said.

"However, we cannot think of national industrialization without thinking of energy generation. Therefore, the implementation of the Malawi 2063 strategy will largely rely on the robust development of the energy sector as a key element," he stated.

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary for Ministry of Energy, Alfonso Chikuni, underscored that productive use of energy refers to energy applications that generate income, support livelihood and improve the quality of life in communities.

"This concept has become central to our strategy in achieving inclusive development, especially in rural areas," he said.

This year’s National Energy Conference aims at leveraging energy for social economic transformation.