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Blessings Chidakwa Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe and Malawi are shifting their excellent political ties to focus towards bolstering their economic and trade relations, as both nations aim at helping transform the SADC region into an economic powerhouse.
This was revealed during the official opening of the three-day 10th session of the Zimbabwe/Malawi Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation (JPCC) being held in Harare, in which the two countries are expected to seal a number of economic and trade deals.
JPCC co-chair and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Secretary Ambassador James Manzou said the meeting was mandated by President Mnangagwa and his Malawian counterpart President Lazarus Chakwera when he visited Zimbabwe recently.
“The two leaders assessed the state of our relations and emphasised the fact that our political relations are very excellent and there is need though to dwell more on our economic relations so that we can strengthen and develop ties between the two countries and, therefore, they mandated this 10th session of the joint commission be held immediately,” he said.
Ambassador Manzou said there was need to implement economic diplomacy and for the two countries to strengthen their economic and trade ties.
“So, the major focus of this JPCC will be on the economic issues and, therefore, the economic committee is going to meet and work on the decision that honourable ministries will adopt, but also there will be other areas like the social area and the defence and security area,” he said.
The joint commission’s co-chair, Malawi’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs Dr Luckie Sikwese said both delegations, as technocrats, were bound to translate the wishes and aspirations of their leaders into practical solutions.
“Allow me to use this opportunity to reaffirm Malawi’s commitment to cooperate with Zimbabwe at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels in areas of mutual interests,” he said.
“I wish to call upon the two Governments to remain committed to holding regular JPCC meetings and encourage their sectors to engage with their counterparts frequently in order to avoid piling up of outstanding issues and new areas of cooperation.”
Dr Sisekwe said it was through continued spirit of friendship that was demonstrated at the highest level that will further scale up bilateral relations to great heights for mutual benefits of the two countries.
According to ZimStat, Zimbabwe’s total exports to Malawi amounted to US$6 million in 2018, but had a US$31 million trade deficit.
Speaking during President Chakwera’s visit, President Mnangagwa traced the historical ties between Zimbabwe and Malawi and stressed the need to strengthen economic ties.
leeroy
Online Reporter