President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has hailed the deepening growth of bilateral ties between Malawi and the United States of America (USA).
Chakwera made the sentiments at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Saturday when he presided over the signing ceremony for the State Partnership Programme between the Malawi Defence Force and the North Carolina National Guard.
“The signing of this programme represents a deepening of bilateral ties between Malawi and the United States of America. When relations between two nations are growing in the right direction as the case is between Malawi and the United States, three things always happen,” he said.
President Chakwera stated that the relationship between Malawi and the United States is growing because the shared areas of cooperation continue to increase exponentially.
He said the Governments of Malawi and the United States are already cooperating in so many areas presently.
He cited public health, investment in the construction industry, road projects as some of the areas USA is supporting Malawi.
“We are working together in Education, the most prominent example being the construction of over 200 Secondary Schools nationwide through the SEED initiative, over 60 of which were already completed and handed over. We are working together in Disaster Management, with the United States joining hands with other partners to support our response plan to the devastating impact of Cyclone Freddy last year and the El Nino this year. We are working together in Governance, with the United States supporting our Anti-Corruption Strategy of strengthening the capacity and affirming the independence of our governance institutions to investigate and prosecute cases without outside interference. We are working together on the Economy, with the United States being Malawi’s strongest advocate in the efforts that led to our successful qualification for an Extended Credit Facility from the International Monetary Fund. We are working together in Diplomacy, for we speak with one voice about the various conflicts and geopolitical situations around the world, and we collaborate with each other on the values we want to espouse in common at various multilateral for a,” said Chakwera.
In the State Partnership Programme, Malawi and USA are working together in Peace and Security. President Chakwera thus thanked Ms. Amy Diaz, Chargé of the US Embassy, for the work she and her team have done to facilitate this agreement between the Malawi Defence Force and the North Carolina National Guard.
“I am also grateful for your generosity in including my officials in your delegation to Zambia yesterday where they participated in the signing ceremony of a similar partnership with the Zambia Defence Force,” he said.
