Malawi High Commissioner to Mozambique Wezi Moyo says there is need to address trade barriers affecting the two neighbouring countries for increased flow of investment opportunities.

She said this on Monday at the start of a three-day Malawi-Mozambique Business Mission in Lilongwe.

The investment opportunities include cross-border health insurance, professional services, agriculture and agro-processing, transport, energy and mineral resources.

The High Commissioner said there bottlenecks such as lengthy processing of business opportunities, cross-border barriers amd non-tariff barriers are affecting trade and investment between the two countries.

Moyo said: “There have been bilateral agreements between the two countries to promote trade and investment. This mission is working to operationalise the agreements by involving the private sector.

“There are non-tariff barriers to trade, traders complain about restrictions when crossing borders and delays in processing paper work.”

Mozambican Confederation of Economic Associations Tete Chapter president Herminio Nhantumbo said collaboration between the two countries has not been vibrant despite the numerous opportunities.

He said: “We see a lot of opportunities in Malawi and there are so many opportunities in Mozambique for Malawi.

“We can do plenty of trade and investment to develop our countries. We are here to break barriers together to facilitate trade and investment.”

Ministry of Trade and Industry Principal Secretary responsible for micro, small and medium enterprises Francis Zhuwao said the meeting was in tandem with the country’s National Export Strategy II that aims at unlocking the country’s export potential.

United Nations data show that Malawi exports to Mozambique accounted for $14.64 million in 2020.

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