Tanzania pens Malawi for fresh talks

Tanzania says it has written Malawi for the two countries to continue dialogue on the disputed northeastern Lake Malawi frontier, but Lilongwe says it has not yet received the communication.

Tanzania’s permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation John Haule is quoted in his country’s media as disclosing that Dodoma has sent an invitation to Malawi for talks in Dar es Salaam at the end of October.

Malawi, which has opted for the UN and/or AU mediation, reportedly failed to show up for earlier talks scheduled for October 10 – 15 in Dar es Salaam.

Malawi’s Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu on Sunday said Lilongwe has not yet received the invitation. 

But he said Malawi is still open to dialogue to resolve the dispute.

Haule said Tanzania is also confident President Joyce Banda will get into the bilateral talks in due course.

Recently, Malawi declared that it preferred to take the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a United Nation’s body whose Article 36 Tanzania is not a signatory to, though a UN member.

Haule is quoted in The Citizen of October 18 as saying: “We understand they might have failed to show up due to the misunderstanding over some issues, which prompted President Joyce Banda to announce suspension of talks early this month. But we have invited them again for talks that should take place on October 27.”

Banda announced early this month that Malawi had officially pulled out of the discussions following Dar es Salaam’s decision to publish a new map, which, among other features, shows the disputed boundary between the two countries to be in the middle of the lake.

Banda also expressed concern about the reported harassment of Malawian fishermen and the sailing of Tanzanian boats on the lake.

Meanwhile, Banda on Wednesday asked the African Union (AU) to intervene in the dispute, according to the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).

Banda pleaded with the AU to help resolve the dispute in talks with its chairperson, Benin’s President Yayi Boni.