On Tuesday 18, a ceremony was held at the Ressano Garcia border to mark the UK Government’s provision of Covid-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as part of £200,000 of UK funding to enable safe trade on Mozambique’s borders with South Africa and Malawi.

UK funding has been used to purchase PPE for customs and border officials at Calomue and Zobue borders (with Malawi) and Ressano Garcia border (with South Africa) to help maintain a safe working environment and minimise disruptions along key supply chains.

The fund is part of the The Safe Trade Programme, which is implemented by TradeMark Africa (TMA), an organisation that works to enhance the trade environment and increase business competitiveness in East Africa. The UK has been providing support to TMA in East Africa since 2010 and has recently supported the organisation to expand its operations to Malawi and Mozambique. Other funding partners include Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands

Speaking at the ceremony, Sarah Love, Deputy Development Director at the British High Commission in Maputo said:

“The UK is funding TMA in Mozambique and Malawi through the Safe Trade programme which is partnering with the Revenue Authority to implement measures to ensure that safe trade can continue during this COVID-19 pandemic. UK funding of £200,000 has enabled the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment for customs and border officials and the development of a joint emergency response to COVID-19 at these locations. This support will ensure a safe working environment for border agency staff and in turn facilitate the flow of goods and services along key value chains. ”

The measures will help strengthen customs efficiency and reduce trade barriers between Mozambique and South Africa and Mozambique and Malawi, contributing to better development of the region.

It was a pleasure to represent 🇬🇧 at this morning’s ceremony to hand over COVID-19 PPE and discuss prevention measures as part of @TradeMarkEastA programme to enable Safe Trade on 🇲🇿’s borders with 🇲🇼and 🇿🇦.@IrlEmbMaputo @CanHCMozambique @NLinMozambique @UKinMozambique pic.twitter.com/3upbfdtmoq

— Sarah Love (@sarahlove808) May 18, 2021

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.