STATEMENT BY

HER EXECELLENCY DR. JOYCE BANDA, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI

DURING

THE OPENING CEREMONY OF

THE FIRST CHINA-SOUTH ASIA EXPO AND TWENTY FIRST KUNMING IMPORT AND EXPORT FAIR

IN

KUNMING, CHINA ON THURSDAY, 6TH JUNE, 2013

 Your Excellency Mr. Ma Kai, Vice Premier of the Peoples Republic of China and host of the First China-South Asia Expo; Your Excellencies Leaders of South Asian countries; The organizers of the China-South Asian Expo; Distinguished Exhibitors; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good morning, It gives me great pleasure, Your Excellencies, to join you this morning, at the official opening ceremony of the First ChinaSouth Asian Expo. My delegation and I are grateful to Your Excellency, and the Government and the People of China, for inviting us to attend this important event, and for the warm welcome and hospitality you have accorded us since our arrival in this beautiful and great country.

Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen I am aware, that I am the only African Leader that has been invited to this auspicious function. I am humbled. It is a special privilege for me to witness this historic occasion. The theme itself: Promoting all-round China-South Asia cooperation and development and shared opening-up, pragmatic cooperation, mutual benefit and harmonious development is very appropriate in times like these.

I am reliably informed that the China-South Asia Expo seeks to enhance economic and business cooperation between China and South Asian countries. The China-South Asia Expo therefore integration, will provide a platform trade upon which and regional and

inter-China-Asia

investment,

movement of the peoples and capital in the region will be promoted. This will give opportunities to create more jobs, stimulate respective local economies and thereby help the

respective

Governments

overcome

poverty

and

realise

prosperity of the region. Your Excellency, There could have been no better venue for this Expo than the City of Kunming, in Yunnan Province, the City of Eternal Spring. The weather here is very much similar to that of Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa. We feel at home here. Everywhere we have been, we have received warm welcome by the friendly and ever smiling people, a symbol of genuine and true Chinese friendship. This, Your Excellency, symbolizes the deepening cooperation between China and Africa,

expressed by Your Excellencys recent and highly successful trip to Africa.

Your Excellency, The people of Malawi value their relationship with the Peoples Republic of China which has been growing steadily from strength to strength since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2007. As Minister of Foreign Affairs at that time, I
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am filled with joy to see that this relationship is deepening. I cherish this achievement. And now as the President of my country, it is my responsibility to ensure that this relationship matures to the mutual benefits of our peoples.

Your Excellency, This year marks the 6th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malawi. As this cooperation continues to grow, both peoples have recognized that high-level exchange of ideas and people-to-people interactions are a prerequisite for any successful cooperation. Our coming here today emphasizes that point. And while here, we have held cordial and in-depth discussions with the Chinese leadership and distinguished Chinese business leaders. We have also had an opportunity to interact with the national leaders and business captains from south Asian countries.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

The China-South Asia Expo is a pragmatic model of cooperation which will bring trade and investments

opportunities not only to China and Asia but also to Africa. The Sino-Africa partnership proves that relations between China and Africa are natural, sincere, mutually beneficial and unshakeable. African countries, through their participation here in this Fair, will not only find opportunities relevant for our continent but also market the new and emerging Africa to China and Asia.

This is more important now at a time of great hope and opportunity in Africa. Today, a significantly different picture of Africa is emerging. In 2010 McKinsey a re-known management consultant firm described African countries as Lions on the Move. McKinseys view of Africa was validated two years ago, when the World Bank commented that Africa could be on the brink of economic take-off much like China and India were twenty years ago.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen In Africa, progress has been made in many areas that are important for the creation of a climate conducive to foreign investment. Trade liberalization, the strengthening of the rule of law, political stability in many parts of Africa, improvements in legal and other instruments as well as the telecommunications and transport infrastructures are some of the key positive changes aiding Africas business climate. The combined effects of political, economic and financial reforms have added to the positive outlook for Africa. Experts predict that the continents combined consumer spending will grow to about 1.4 trillion in 2020. They also estimate that Africa has as many middle class households as India.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen Africa has intensified her efforts in regional integration and intra Africa trade to enhance and expand trade and investment

between and among African countries creating a considerable market within Africa that is conducive for local manufacturing. The key driver to Africas economic success has been its natural wealth, where Africa prides in contributing to about 30 percent of the worlds mineral reserves, including about 40 percent of the worlds gold reserves. The exciting news is that the natural resources wealth explains just a part of the story. What I have observed is that Africas economy is becoming increasingly diversified in the following key sectors: financial services, health and pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, energy, construction, information and communication technology. I

understand that Foreign Direct Investment on the continent increased from $10 billion in 2000 to almost $60billion in 2009. This can only bear testimony that returns on investment in Africa are among some of the highest in the world. Furthermore, during the past decade, we have seen many fora being established in engaging the continent: The China Africa Cooperation; The European Union (EU) African Union Forum; The Africa-India Forum; The US African Union Relations and
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the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA); and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). During this 21st century, we have witnessed an increased inflow and competition of the global players in Africa. This clearly shows that Africa stands ready to interact with the rest of the world for its growth and prosperity.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is therefore my humble call to this Exposition to work with Africa. This is a call to work with Africa in modernizing Africas agricultural sector. This is a call to develop the rural economies of Africa in order to generate agricultural growth and job creation. This is a call to work with Africa to leverage Africas people resources. There is need in Africa to establish and strengthen skills and vocational training for our youths and women in order to create jobs. Yes, this is a call that Africa needs smart and equal partnerships for trade and investment and transfer of technology to develop centers of excellence in
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business; in health; in education; in agri-processing and tourism.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen Malawi is such one country that is on the rise in Africa. When I took office as President on 7th April, 2012, Malawis economy was experiencing serious political and socio-economic

challenges. Since then, we made bold decisions to embark on an economic recovery plan to recover and build the economy. We have implemented painful but necessary reforms, for the healing and recovery of our economy. I am pleased to report that our economy has now turned around having laid a solid foundation for investment climate and macro-economic stability.

I would like to, therefore, invite and encourage investors to come and invest in Malawi. The political environment is stable. Government policies are predictable and friendly towards investors. We offer various incentives to investors.
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My vision for Malawi is to eradicate poverty through economic growth and wealth creation. This vision is founded on the belief that if we bring decent incomes into households, we will be able to overcome poverty, malnutrition, population growth and education for the younf people. The vision is being

implemented through the Economic Recovery Plan which has five priority sectors, namely: Agriculture, Energy, Mining, Tourism and Infrastructure Development and Information

Communication Technology. The choice of these sectors has been guided by their ability to create jobs, diversify and grow our economy. My Government recognises that private sector is key to realising our plan. I welcome private investors from China and Asia to partner with Malawi in a win-win situation in these productives areas.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen Allow me to briefly highlight the opportunities for private investment in Malawi: In the Agriculture Sector investment
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opportunities exists in commercial farming to produce viable cereals, legumes, pulses, horticulture, floriculture, aquaculture and horticulture. This opens up opportunities in the entire value chain for diversification, agro-industries, value addition and manufacturing. The specific crops that are actively promoted are maize, rice, soya, beans, cut flowers, vegetables, cassava, and cotton, among other crops. In the mining and energy sectors, there are huge investment opportunities in power generation, transmission and distribution from hydro, solar, bio-fuels and wind through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). In the mining, we have recently opened a uranium mine, and we are in the process of opening a niobium mine. We have significant deposits of uranium,

bauxite, monazite, coal, precious and semi-precious stones, limestone, phosphates, heavy mineral sands, graphite and other minerals. We also have opportunities in oil and gas. invite you to come and invest in energy and mining. We

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In the tourism sector, we are looking for the private sector to invest in hotels, leisure boats on Lake Malawi, casinos and amusement parks in order to bring more tourists from China and Asia into Malawi. Malawi has beautiful climate, beaches and attractive tourist destinations for a discerning tourist. In infrastructure development, there are opportunities in the provision of both soft and hard infrastructure in order to make it cheaper, easier and faster to do business in Malawi. In the transport sector for example, opportunities exist in the construction, rehabilitation and operation of railway

infrastructure that links Malawi to the neighbouring countries and sea ports.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen I believe that this Fair has provided us the useful insights with respect to the need for increased cooperation and smartpartnerships between China, Asia and Africa. Malawi offers her full support to the promotion of such relationship.

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In closing, let me wish you a very successful First ChinaSouth Asia Expo and Twenty First Kunming Import and Export Fair. I Thank You: Xiexie! (in Chinese pronounced as Shi She)

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