THE PHILIPPINES and Malawi have expressed their intent to elevate their bilateral ties by forging a partnership in agriculture and launching a student exchange program, Malacañang said Friday.
The commitment was made when President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with Non-Resident Malawi Ambassador to the Philippines Kwacha Chisiza at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.
Garafil said Marcos, on the sidelines of the presentation of Chisiza’s credentials, pitched that the Philippine government could help improve Malawi’s agriculture sector, especially in enhancing their rice production level.
Marcos urged Chisiza to send Malawi’s technicians, scientists, and actual practitioners to the Philippines to learn the country’s research and techniques in rice and corn production, as well as other efforts to enhance the agricultural industry.
Such undertaking, he said, would allow Malawi to apply the Philippines’ several initiatives to its country’s agriculture.
“So, if we can get it started, Your Excellency, I think it would be of great benefit to both our countries because generally, what flows from this kind of partnership is straight (and) will come from that. And we are, of course, always looking to increase our trade with all our partners,” Marcos told Chisiza, as quoted by the PCO.
“So, again, the future is ripe with opportunity. I think it is a good time to take that opportunity for Malawi and for the Philippines together.”
Chisiza agreed with Marcos, saying the two countries have a lot of common areas where they can both benefit.
He also mentioned the “Malawi Vision 2063,” which focuses on three important pillars –agriculture productivity and commercialization, industrialization, and urbanization.
“We see a lot of interest in the agriculture sector that the Philippines has and our economy in Malawi is predominantly dependent on agriculture. We want (to learn) about the Philippines and large quantities of rice production, which in our country, it is the second staple food,” Chisiza said.
He noted that the Malawi government is also interested in implementing a student exchange program with the Philippines, acknowledging the moral and technical expertise that could be learned from Filipinos.
“We see a lot of universities in the Philippines. One of the areas that we are focusing on, hopefully, we can have Malawi students to come and visit here, who also like to have more technical expertise from the Philippines coming to Malawi,” he said. “That is a very good synergy between our countries.”
‘Brighter’ partnership
Garafil said Marcos was “very happy” to receive Chisiza’s credentials and optimistic about the two nations’ “brighter partnership” after the ambassador’s visit.
She said the new envoy also made a commitment to deepen the cooperation between Malawi and the Philippines.
“For his part, Chisiza told President Marcos that he appreciated his warm welcome in receiving his credentials as he hopes to stay longer in the Philippines to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the Philippines and Malawi,” Garafil said.
Chisiza also invited Marcos to consider visiting Malawi in his future official trips.
He likewise urged the Filipino business community to invest in Malawi in various areas of trade, such as mining, agriculture, energy, tourism, health, and education, based on a statement posted on Radio Television Malacañang’s official Facebook page.
Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Malawi were established on May 3, 2001.
Since then, the two countries have engaged in trade with a total trade volume exceeding USD1,010,422 in 2020.
Based on 2021 figures, a total of 41 Filipinos are residing in Malawi. (Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos)
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