Chilima to speak at conference
Estranged Vice-President Saulos Chilima leaves the country tomorrow for Kigali, Rwanda where he is expected to be one of the key speakers at the 2018 African Economic Conference.
The conference has been organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Special assistant to the Vice-President on economic affairs Milward Tobias confirmed the development yesterday, saying Chilima, alongside other leaders will discuss issues on regional and continental integration, exploring ways of improving intra-Africa trade and cooperation.
“The conference is significant to Malawi as a member of Sadc, Comesa and the tripartite Free Trade Area,” he said.
Besides Chilima, other key speakers will include the host Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Commissioner for Economic Affairs at the African Union Commission Professor Victor Harison and United Nations assistant secretary-general and regional director for Africa for UNDP Ahunna Eziakonwa.
According to Tobias, Chilima has co-financed the trip with the organisers.
The interim leader of UTM Party, who fell out of grace with President Peter Mutharika after expressing his desire to contest for the presidency on UTM ticket, is scheduled to return home on Thursday, December 6.
Three weeks ago State House accused Chilima of making foreign trips without the knowledge of Mutharika, describing his conduct as “blatant disregard of government protocol and international diplomacy”.
