Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique commit to regional integration, cooperation

President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday signed three trilateral agreements with presidents of Mozambique and Zambia, Felipe Nyusi and Hakainde Hichilema, to boost regional integration and cooperation.

The three presidents signed an agreement on the Nacala Development Corridor at Nacala Port in Mozambique, where Nyusi inaugurated the rehabilitated and modernised version of the port. The agreement will allow the three countries to use the Nacala Port to ship their imports and exports to their respective countries.

Ministers of Transport from the three countries also signed two other agreements that would allow them to transport their goods together via rail and road.

Addressing delegates to the inauguration, Chakwera urged the leaders and peoples of the three countries to capitalise on the opportunities created by the port to pursue regional integration and cooperation.

He said: “We must understand that [regional integration] cannot be done without building trust between our nations to enhance our bilateral relations.

“Without building trust, the work of facilitating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will simply be too difficult to achieve, as will its intended objective of  improving logistical effectiveness and reducing logistical costs of conducting business between our nations.”

The President further urged the three countries to implement other projects in energy and mobile connections, among others, to reduce the production inefficiencies in their respective countries.

Speaking at the event, Nyusi encouraged Chakwera and Hichilema to use the port to transport their cargo, saying it would reduce the cost of transport.

He also urged the governments of Malawi and Zambia to invest in rehabilitating the port–building more efficient rail systems and freight systems–to improve the efficiency of transport along the route.

On his part, Hichilema said it was important for the three countries to invest in transport infrastructure that connects port and inland cities to reduce the costs of transport, and by extension, doing business.

In 2018, the government of Mozambique underwent a comprehensive project to expand and modernise the Nacala Port. The $277.5 million project was funded by the Japanese government, through the Japanese Development Agency.

In an interview on the sidelines of the event, Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara said the project would ease the logistical challenges.

He said: “With the revamped Nacala Port, we can increase the volume of Malawian imports passing through Nacala from 8 percent to about 50 percent.”