Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has reiterated his government’s determination to forge ahead with Malawi’s cooperation with Zimbabwe even in challenging times such as the sanctions the West imposed on Zimbabwe.
Chakwera is one of the Heads of State and Governments in Africa, which have relentlessly advocated for the lifting of the sanctions against Zimbabwe at various fora.
Speaking on Wednesday evening at a State Banquet hosted at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe in honor of the Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Malawi leader said his government remains committed to working with Zimbabwe in various areas.
Chakwera commended the Mnangagwa administration for the support the Harare government has been providing to Malawi, including support towards responding climate change disasters that have hit Malawi in recent times.
“Zimbabwe is always among the first to come to our aid, including 10,000 metric tonnes of food President Mnangagwa sent to us soon after Cyclone Freddy hit us. President Mnangagwa and I just finished a one-on-one discussion moments before coming to this banquet, which we could have carried on all night were it not for this Banquet. No matter what each of our nations face, we are determined to stand together and to fight for each other, because standing together no matter what is what you do with family,” he said.
President Chakwera disclosed that his invitation of Mnangagwa for the State Visit is a celebration of the cordial and strong bonds of cooperation and friendship that exist between Malawi and Zimbabwe since the establishment of our diplomatic relations in 1980.
He said Malawi and Zimbabwe will never accept that Zimbabwe and Malawi are not neighbouring countries despite the colonial borders separating the two countries.
“The fact that those old colonial powers in Europe decided to create borders that did not join Zimbabwe’s border and Malawi’s border like conjoined twins is all the evidence you need that they did not know what they were doing. May God forgive them,” said.
In his remarks, Mnangagwa thanked President Chakwera and his administration for the invitation. He assured his counterpart of his government’s commitment to collaborating with Malawi in efforts designed to develop the two countries.
