Commonwealth offers Malawi opportunity for deeper collaboration

Commonwealth Secretary General, Karmalesh Sharma, has said the organisation is eager to engage Malawi in new areas of cooperation in election management, education and management of natural resources.

Sharma was speaking in London on Tuesday evening after meeting Malawi President Joyce Banda when the two leaders discussed various possible areas of cooperation between Malawi and the Commonwealth.

“The meeting with President Banda accorded us an opportunity to discuss areas of cooperation where the Commonwealth can be a partner with Malawi such as election, management of natural resources and education,” he said.

Sharma said in the coming weeks and months, the organisation and Malawi will have a more engaged programme to advance collaboration in the sectors that Malawi required assistance.

“We have agreed that the best way forward is to prioritise some of these areas of cooperation and see how the initiatives take off,” said Sharma.

He said the offer for deeper collaboration is being made in full recognition of the challenges Malawi is currently facing.

“The President briefed me on all the initiatives taken by her government and challenges for Malawi so that we have a proper context of the collaboration which is before us,” said Sharma.

According to the Commonwealth, Malawi is the only member of the 54 country membership who has the lowest income per capita.

Sharma said his meeting with President Banda was also meant to thank her for accepting the invitation to honour Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth during her Diamond Jubilee celebration.

President Banda and other Commonwealth and world leaders are in the United Kingdom to take part in the celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee making 60 years of her reign. The Queen ascended to the throne on February 6, and her Coronation took place on June 2, 1953.

The four day jubilee celebrations have been marked with various activities including a televised Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace which featured top world artists such as Elton John, Grace Jones, Annie Lennox, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard, Robbie Williams and Stevie Wonder.

Apart from attending the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee events, the State President is also expected to fulfill a number of official engagements considering that her visit comes barely weeks after her government moved in to repair the worsening ties between Malawi and her major bilateral development partner, Britain.