Malawi President Peter Mutharika has said his government has stepped up efforts aimed at transforming the country into a more skilled and export oriented economy within five years. Mutharika made the sentiments during a Televised Session cast live on CNBC-Africa which was part of the World Economic Forum summit dubbed ‘Annual Meeting of the new champions’ currently taking place in Dalian, China. “I think China had been very pragmatic in its approach by focusing on rural development; we are doing the same in Malawi. We have decided to take a massive training approach for the youth in rural areas we are moving social amenities such as schools and hospitals to rural areas where most people are; we give them skills training right there.
“As in my case, I want in five years from now people should say we are better off than we were before. I want a society where people are happier than they were before; people with better incomes, good houses, good roads and better services,” Mutharika said.
Asked as to whether China’s economic woes can have influence on Malawi, Mutharika observed that economic challenges facing China would have negative impact on Malawi. “China is crucial partner to Malawi since 2008, they have been supporting us in a number of areas such as irrigation and infrastructure development, it is also a free trade area for over 400 products,” said Mutharika.
World Economic Forum is a platform that brings together World leaders ranging from political to business to discuss challenges facing trade and investment across the Global. This year’s meeting is called Annual Meeting of the New Champions and is being held from September 9-11 at Dalian International Conference Centre (DICC) for the second year running under the theme “charting a new course for growth’.
The Forum is expected to draw together about 2 thousand delegates.