UN SG challenges Mutharika on Africa investment

The United Nation (UN)’s secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, has asked President Peter Mutharika to seize the opportunity of addressing over 400 business leaders at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday to drive home the point that Africa needs trade and investment.

Ban expressed his encouragement to Mutharika during their first meeting and the first one that the UN chief has had with a world leader at this year’s General Assembly, which took place on Thursday morning in the board room of his office on the 38th floor of the UN secretariat building in New York.

“The secretary general has encouraged me, being one of the key speakers at the meeting with the business leaders next week that I should make a case not only for Malawi but for Africa on the need of introducing and growing trade and investment as a route for economic development,” said Mutharika when he gave a brief interview to the media after the meeting.

“I feel privileged and honoured to be encouraged to use the platform [at the NYSE] to use the voice of Malawi to speak for the whole continent,” he said. Mutharika last week accepted an invitation to make a presentation at NYSE on the trade and investment opportunities that exist in Malawi which international investors can exploit.

According to his chief communication strategist Bright Malopa, the Malawi leader will make the presentation on the 7th floor of NYSE— located at 11 Wall Street, Lower Manhattan in New York—during an African Heads of State and Government Investment Working Lunch.

“As you can see, from this trip we will not be bringing footballs to donate to parliamentarians as some have done in the past. We are turning every stone to make sure we are able to bring investment to Malawians,” said Malopa.

Mutharika, according to his communication strategist, will make the presentation on September 22 2014, three days before he addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 25 2015, at 5pm Eastern Time (about 11pm Malawian Time).

In his presentation, according to Malopa, Mutharika is expected to highlight the priority projects requiring investment in Malawi and the strategies and policies that are being followed to realise the goal.

The Malawi leader flew into New York on Monday to participate in the General Debate of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly. He will be making his first address as Head of State.

The African Heads of State and Government Investment Working Lunch is jointly organised by Africa Investor (AI), the Office of the Special Adviser of Africa (OSAA) and the Global Partnerships Forum (GPF), in association with NYSE.

“The event will foster dialogue between business and government leaders on practical investment partnerships that support investment to the African continent and facilitate African regional economic integration,” reads a information note jointly issued by the organisers.

The audience, according to the note, will include some 150 chief executive officers, chief investment officers from global investment institutions and representatives from African pension funds.

AI is an investment holding company operating through Ai Capital on principal investments, and Ai Media, which produces investment research and published content. It has a growing network of clients across Africa serviced from regional hub offices in Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg, affiliate offices across the continent and a coordinating office in London.

Established in May 2003, OSAA promotes international support for peace and development in the continent of Africa through advocacy and facilitation of intergovernmental deliberations on Africa, particularly with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).

The GPF serves as a platform for building innovative partnerships and alliances, through knowledge sharing. It brings together leaders from across sectors to address global challenges and fosters economic growth to help achieve greater prosperity around the world by moving beyond aid to economic empowerment.

NYSE, sometimes known as the “Big Board”, is an American stock exchange. It is by far the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalisation of its listed companies at $16.613 trillion and an average daily trading value estimated at $169 billion in 2013.