Nyusi visit touted as boost to Malawi, Mozambique ties
Foreign policy experts and political analysts have touted the three-day State visit by Mozambican President Felipe Nyusi as a boost to relations between Malawi and Mozambique.
Nyusi arrived in the country yesterday and was welcomed by President Lazarus Chakwera at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe and immediately undertook several engagements.
Reacting to the visit in an interview yesterday, former Malawi High Commissioner to Mozambique Martin Kansichi said Nyusi’s visit is good news for Malawi in terms of diplomacy, infrastructure development and trade.
He said Mozambique has always wanted to be the country’s best bilateral friend in recent years, but Malawi was not forthcoming due to political reasons.
Kansichi said over the years, Malawi has lost out in terms of joint infrastructure development with Mozambique because of the difference in policy direction between the two countries.
He said: “Mozambique has been looking at long-term infrastructure development while Malawi has been looking at short-term development, as such, the plans have been falling through.
“For example, Malawi in recent years has been pushing for the Nsanje World Inland Port Project which was deemed a short-term transport solution by Mozambique compared to other available options such as the rail line project and road project, including the Quelimane Port which needed collaboration between the two countries to do proper feasibility studies.”
Kansichi said Malawi-Mozambique relations have been a victim of bad publicity by scholars who have been writing and publishing journal articles putting Malawi in bad light for siding with apartheid South Africa against other nations such as Mozambique.
His sentiments were corroborated by University of Malawi political analyst Mustafa Hussein who observed that Malawi has not enjoyed a healthy bilateral relationship with Mozambique beginning from the one party rule when there were strained relations between president Hastings Kamuzu Banda and his Mozambique counterpart Samora Machel.
He said: “There has been a lukewarm relationship over the past years, but now with the visit of President Nyusi, it signifies a new era. Malawi is almost surrounded by Mozambique and for purposes of trade and transport, Malawi needs Mozambique more.”
Hussein said historically, the Sena Corridor from Mozambique to Malawi through Nsanje has been famous for people trekking to work in mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He added that the people also speak almost the same languages such as Chichewa, Sena and Mang’anja.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said Malawi has had no State visit by a Mozambican President in the recent past. The official said Mozambique leaders only made official visits.
Upon arrival, Nyusi visited Lilongwe City Council Civic Offices where he was granted Freedom of the City before proceeding to the Kamuzu Mausoleum to lay a wreath.
Chakwera also escorted Nyusi to Parliament Building where he planted a tree and in the afternoon opened the Fifth Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Industrialisation Week.
Today, the two leaders will travel to Marka in Nsanje to inspect the railway line connection project and will cross the border into Villa Nova, Mozambique. In the afternoon, they will also stop at Phombeya Power Substation in Balaka to tour the Mozambique-Malawi Interconnector Power Project site.
The two are also expected to sign bilateral agreements on infrastructure projects and trade ,among others.
In his remarks, Nyusi said he was delighted to be in Malawi for several bilateral engagements aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations.
Research shows that the last time Malawi had a State visit from a Mozambican President was in 2013 when Armando Guebuza visited the country for three days.
