Cooperation between Egypt and Malawi on agriculture and irrigation

Ziad Abdel Fattah wrote:

Relations between Egypt and Malawi are witnessing rapprochement in several areas. While Egypt intends to provide the necessary support to Lilongwe in the fields of agriculture and grain storage, the country located in Southeast Africa aims to attract investments in the trade, health, education, mining and agriculture sectors.

Ambassador Rasha Hamdi, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Malawi, hosted the Minister Malawian agricultureThey discussed ways and areas of cooperation between Egypt and Malawi in the field of agriculture and irrigation, especially in the field of drought-resistant grains.

Earlier, Egypt’s ambassador to Malawi, Rasha Hamdi, affirmed Cairo’s commitment to supporting Malawi’s efforts to develop its grain storage capabilities and enhance food security, during a visit she made to the headquarters of the National Food Reserve Authority (NFRA) in the capital, Lilongwe.

Malawi is moving towards renovating a number of grain storage silos.

The visit came in light of the need to renovate a number of the Authority’s storage silos, as eight silos are suffering from a deterioration in their technical condition, which necessitates carrying out maintenance and modernization work to ensure the efficiency of storage operations and to preserve the strategic stock of grains.

The Egyptian ambassador said that Cairo is keen to expand cooperation with Malawi in the food security sector, through supporting grain storage projects and building the capacities of local personnel, in addition to transferring Egyptian expertise and technology in this field.

She added that cooperation between the two countries aims to enhance the efficiency of food stock management and improve storage systems, which contributes to supporting food stability and addressing the challenges associated with agricultural production.

For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Food Reserve Authority, Bruce Monthally, explained that the visit represents an important opportunity to explore new prospects for cooperation with Egypt, especially in the areas of developing technologies for storing rice, millet and other agricultural crops.

Monthali noted that some of the existing silos were originally built by Egyptian experts, expressing the Authority’s desire to benefit from Egyptian expertise again in modernizing these facilities and enhancing their operational efficiency.

This cooperation reflects the depth of Egyptian-Malawian relations and the keenness of both sides to expand the partnership in development fields, especially those related to food security and the transfer of knowledge and technical expertise.

Last April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Malawi, Dr. George T. Shabunda, discussed with the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Malawi ways to strengthen bilateral relations and expand areas of joint cooperation between the two countries in a number of vital sectors.

Shabunda called on Egyptian investors to explore the investment opportunities available in Malawi, stressing his government’s commitment to providing the necessary support to facilitate their business and enhance economic partnerships between the two sides.

He stressed the importance of expanding cooperation in the trade, health, education, mining and agriculture sectors, noting opportunities for cooperation with the University of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Malawi (LUANAR), particularly in the areas of fisheries development and rainwater harvesting technologies.