Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nancy Tembo has called upon investors from Egypt to invest in Malawi in order to boost trade and investment between the two countries.

She was speaking in Lilongwe on Monday at a reception to commemorate the 71st Anniversary of the July 23rd Revolution of Egypt (The National Day of the Arab Republic of Egypt).

Tembo said Egypt is developed and there is a lot that Malawi could learn from it hence the need for investment which is of mutual benefit to the two countries.

She said as Malawi is emphasizing on value addition, the investment venture is an opportunity for Malawi to tap from Egypt’s expertise so that Malawi exports processed products to its neighbouring countries and also to Egypt.

“Egypt buys a lot of our tobacco; they produce fertilizer and they manufacture various items. They are big in manufacturing. There is need to have factories in Malawi that can do value addition. For example, if we export groundnuts, it should not be just groundnuts but processed such as peanut butter,” Tembo added.

Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Malawi, Mohamed Elsharif said Egypt is geared to make exchange of goods with Malawi in order to harness and boost trade and investment between the two countries.

“During their meeting in Lusaka, Zambia the Malawi and Egypt Presidents discussed on how to make exchange of goods and fertilizer from Egypt to Malawi and in return Malawi will send goods such as tea, coffee, rice, tobacco, groundnuts,” he said.

President, Dr Lazarus Chakwera and President El-Sisi met, early last month, on the sidelines of the COMESA Summit in Lusaka, Zambia where the two leaders committed to fostering cooperation between the two countries in trade and investment.

Malawi and Egypt bilateral relations date back to independence with the Arab country establishing diplomatic presence in Malawi by opening its embassy in Lilongwe in 1982.

Reported by Patricia Kapulula