Amid relentless forex woes and battered economy, President Lazarus Chakwera is set to flight out again this Sunday for the fourth Annual summit Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Corporation-FOCAC in China running from 4th to 5th September 2024.
Foreign Affairs Ministry describes the platform as important for African countries to discuss economic and international trade promotion.
“His Excellency the President will therefore attend the meeting to promote trade and investment linkages in order to stimulate economic growth in Malawi. The Malawi leader will also take advantage of the meeting in bilateral talks with other African leaders on matters of mutual interest,” adds the ministry’s statement.
It adds China is currently supporting the development of industrial parks in key locations in the country.
A week ago, Chakwera was in Germany, Rome and Mozambique for the other meetings.
Meanwhile, political and governance experts fault him for allegedly being inconsiderate of the country’s forex shortage.
They have called on Chakwera and his public officers to trim foreign travels to save the forex.
But Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu argued that “foreign travels whose gains outweigh the costs must be encouraged for the good of the people in the country.”
Last month, Reserve Bank of Malawi indicated the county’s official gross foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter of this year stood at $374.48 million, a drop from $429.17 million in the fourth quarter of last year.
In further said the private sector foreign exchange reserves also declined from $425.52 million last year to $391.49 million this year.
The situation has led to an acute shortage of foreign currency on the market, forcing foreign traders to halt or suspend some of their operations in Malawi.
