A Parliamentary Delegation from Malawi, led by the Speaker of Malawi National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Catherine Gotani Hara called on President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 31, 2023.
Welcoming the delegation, the President said that India and Malawi share long-standing cordial and friendly relations, and there is immense scope for adding greater depth to our ties. She stated that our common faith in democratic values and pluralism makes India and Malawi natural partners.
The President noted that India has been one of the largest trade and private investment partners of Malawi, and is also a preferred destination of Malawian nationals for health and education. She was happy to note that India has a strong development partnership programme with Malawi and a number of projects have been implemented in Malawi in the areas such as infrastructure, health, water resources, capacity building and education.
Earlier this year, India had also extended humanitarian assistance to Malawi in the wake of devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone ‘Freddy’ which hit Malawi on March 11, 2023. The first consignment was airlifted on March 23, 2023 and handed over to the Government of Malawi on March 26, 2023. This comprised immediate disaster relief items like blankets, tarpaulins, milk powder and essential medicines, weighing approx 12 tons. Since then, four more consignments have been sent to Malawi, comprising approx. 165 tons of medicines and other essential items to contribute to the disaster management efforts of the Government of Malawi.
This assistance to Malawi has been extended in keeping with India’s civilizational philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam”, in the spirit of South-South Cooperation and our commitment to keep Africa on top of our priorities as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India stands ready to provide assistance to all friendly countries in their hour of need and this assistance cements our close bonds with Malawi in its time of crisis.