Summary

• The visit seeks to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera arrived in Tanzania on Wednesday morning for a three-day state visit to boost bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries.

Mr Chakwera was received by Tanzania President John Magufuli in the commercial hub Dar es Salaam and was accorded a state reception.

“The visit seeks to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries,” Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation Prof Palamagamba Kabudi said in a statement.

The two leaders are expected to lay the foundation stone at the Mbezi Luis Bus Terminal on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam. The $22 million (Tsh51 billion) bus terminal, which is under construction, will accommodate upcountry and cross-border-bound buses including those to and from Malawi and will have a capacity of handling about 3,430 buses daily.

Prof Kabudi said the visit by President Chakwera follows an invite by Dr Magufuli extended to Malawi after his two-day State visit in April last year when Peter Mutharika was president.

Mr Chakwera was sworn-in as president in June this year after winning the re-run of a hotly disputed election. Mr Mutharika’s victory in the May 2019 election was overturned in February by the Constitutional Court over fraud allegations.

Projects

President Chakwera has since made one-day working visits to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Tanzania becomes the fourth SADC country the Malawi leader is visiting, where he is expected to tour the Port of Dar es Salaam and Malawi Cargo Centre, which handle goods destined for the landlocked nation.

The two countries, according to Prof Kabudi, are undertaking joint infrastructure projects among them one-stop border posts at Songwe and Kasumulo, Mtwara corridor, as well as in Songwe River Valley.

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