Blantyre, Malawi — Zimbabwe and Malawi’s economic cooperation is increasing despite the negative impact of United States coercive measures on Harare, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Malawi Nancy Saungweme has said.
In an interview with Zimbabwean media here, the ambassador said the increased trade and investment between the two countries had seen companies and goods from either country being found in the other.
“There is a lot of economic relationship going on, like trade going on between the two countries of Malawi and Zimbabwe.
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“Of course, since we have been on sanctions, Malawi just overtook us on the trade balances, whereby we are in the deficit.
“But at this particular moment, Zimbabwe is also doing a lot of trading, bringing in a lot of products,” she said.
Ambassador Saungweme said Harare’s resilience in the face of adversity brought by the sanctions had seen the decrease of the trade deficit between Zimbabwe and Malawi from about 35 percent to 15 percent.
“In all the supermarkets, you can find that there are a lot of Zimbabwean products (here) and the deficit is shrinking . . . so these are good signs,” she said.
The Zimbabwean diplomat said there was a considerable number of Zimbabweans living in Malawi, which was reflective of the two countries’ oneness, notwithstanding geographical boundaries.
There are at least 5 000 Zimbabweans in Malawi registered on availed platforms as well as those not registered.
“We have got a lot of Zimbabweans. Some are having their own companies. There are so many companies, I think about 15 or so, or 20 companies from Zimbabwe,” she said.
Quizzed on people to people exchanges, Ambassador Saungweme said there were at least 6,5 million Zimbabweans of Malawian extraction.
“We are one, like you have talked about, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
“We have got 6,5 million in Zimbabwe, a third generation of Malawian descent.
“Most of those guys are also coming here to Malawi to start businesses.
“So there is not one single family in Zimbabwe, as people say, which has not had intermarriage with Malawi, we are one, that’s what I always say because you find that there is a connection, somehow,” said the diplomat.
She said the two countries’ cultures were also virtually the same.
“Even the culture, everything is more or less the same. Zimbabweans come and have Chambo (Malawi fish), they come and have the rice here, the Malawi rice, it’s so nice (and) anyway, many Zimbabweans know about it,” said Ambassador Saungweme.
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