Malawi and Mozambique have expressed their wish to have seamless rail connectivity between the two countries to speed up the movement of goods.

In separate interviews on the sidelines of a four-day joint technical  meeting on transport between Malawi and Mozambique, Ministry of Transport and Public Works of Malawi Principal Secretary responsible for administration Madalo Nyambose and Mozambique’s Ministry of Transport and Communication Permanent Secretary Ambrósio Adolfo Sitoe noted that train border stops sometimes affect the speedy movement of cargo crossing the border.

Nyambose said being a landlocked country, Malawi accesses the sea ports through road and rail, as such, the need to improve the rail system.

She said: “There are also issues of seamless train operations, where we should have trains that are borderless to ensure that we cut the turnaround time of trains.

“There was also the issue of us creating a dry port in Nacala which could facilitate the consolidation of cargo for Malawi.”

Nyambose further said among others, the two countries need to review the bilateral air service agreement which they signed several years ago to ensure that it corresponds to the current environment.

On the other hand, Sitoe said Mozambique wants to consolidate peace and develop infrastructure to facilitate trade and ensure economic growth and development in the region.

He said the Mozambican Government is carrying out major interventions in the Maputo, Nacala and Beira Corridors to serve its economy and those of neighbouring countries in the Southern African Development Community region, including Malawi.

Said Sitoe: “Investing in the development and rational use of transport infrastructures, as our governments have been promoting, means working on a determinant of trade facilitation as with efficient transport we make products and services more competitive.

“We are aware of Malawi’s concerns regarding fertiliser, fuel and other logistics and we want to continue to work together to find solutions to the challenges presented to us.”

Malawi on October 6 this year signed a trilateral agreement with the governments of Zambia and Mozambique to manage the Nacala Corridor and transport their cargo along the route to create economic opportunities for people in the three countries.

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