As Malawi faces an acute shortage of foreign exchange, President Lazarus Chakwera and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are exploring the possibility of exchanging goods.

The two engaged in bilateral talks on Thursday on the sidelines of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Heads of State Summit in Lusaka, Zambia.

A farmer carries his tobacco
in Mchinji District

Addressing the media after the meeting, Chakwera said products they are angling for barter are tobacco and fertiliser.

Tobacco, fondly known as Malawi’s green gold, wires into the economy about 60 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

He said: “We talked about exchange of agricultural products with Egyptian companies.

“We already began talking about it so I gave them what we would call an aide memoire to remind them of those things.”

Drugs, fuel and fertiliser are some imports that drain a lot of forex.  Last growing season, for instance, Malawi spent K109 billion on the Affordable Inputs Programme where a large chunk goes to fertiliser imports.

Chakwera and El-Sisi having a light-hearted moment

Chakwera said El-Sisi also expressed sadness over Cyclone Freddy devastation which killed 676 people, displaced over 660 000, injured 2 171 while 537 are missing. 

He added that the Egyptian President asked for a cyclone devastation trail report.

The country needs $700 million (about K721 billion) to rebuild its infrastructure, according to the government.

El-Sisi was chairperson of Comesa the past three years. He handed over the mantle to Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema during the Thursday summit.

In his keynote addressed, the Egyptian President said his country is committed to trade exchange with fellow Comesa countries.

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