The Minister of State for African Countries Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Honourable Mr. Ahmed Abdul Aziz Kattan, on Friday, 20th November, 2020, met with His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi at the State House in Lilongwe.
During the meeting, His Excellency, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera expressed his gratitude to Honourable Kattan for being the first Foreign Minister to visit Malawi. He further paid tribute to the friendly long-standing relationship between Malawi and Saudi Arabia.
President Chakwera emphasized on the need for the two countries to collaborate more in agriculture, transport and education. He also stated that Malawi is ready to further strengthen the cooperation with Saudi Arabia in other sectors such as, health, mining and tourism. Saudi Arabia exports agricultural products to Malawi including fertilizer.
In his remarks, Honourable Kattan reiterated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is keen to strengthen its relations with the Republic of Malawi in light of the Kingdom’s Vision for 2030 of strengthening its areas of trade and investment. The Honourable Minister reassured the President that the Kingdom is ready to present Malawi’s urgent humanitarian needs to King Salman. He added that Saudi Arabia is more than ready to expand its cooperation and enhance its development projects with Malawi through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
Furthermore, Kattan reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to combat COVID-19. He stressed that as Saudi Arabia assumes the Chairmanship of the Group of 20(G20), it is committed to accelerate her efforts to combat adverse Socio-economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic. He therefore highlighted that the Government of Saudi Arabia donated $500 million dollars to the World Health Organization (WHO), which will eventually assist developing countries including Malawi, in their fights against COVID-19 pandemic.
Before meeting President Chakwera, Honourable Ahmed Abdul Aziz Kattan, met Honourable Eisenhower Nduwa Mkaka M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs. The two also discussed how Malawi and Saudi Arabia can deepen the strong, friendly, and long standing diplomatic bonds that they enjoy.
Diplomatic relations between Malawi and Saudi Arabia started in 1991. The relations are at non- residential basis with the Malawi’s Embassy in the State of Kuwait accredited to Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Nairobi accredited to Malawi.
Alison Edson Liwanda|Deputy Ambassador|Embassy of the Republic of Malawi |Al Shuhada Area, Blk 5, Street 512, Villa 34, Kuwait.
