By Cathy Maulidi
A delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrived in Malawi Thursday to continue discussions surrounding a potential government-to-government (G2G) arrangement for a sustainable fuel supply as well as other investments.
However, the delegation has not disclosed whether a concrete fuel deal will be reached during this visit.
The UAE team met with key officials from the Malawi Government, including Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Colleen Zamba, and Minister of Trade and Industry, Sosten Gwengwe.
The delegation from the UAE is comprised of senior officials, including Abdalla Alobeidili, Director of Investment Legislation Management, and Abdalla Ahmed Ibrahim, Director of Policies.
Others are Abdulrahman Abdulla Naser Salem Alshkelli, Manager for Government and Sovereign Relations at the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, and Ayesah Saleh Mohammad Ramadhan Alrafi, Specialist for Foreign Direct Investment.
When approached for comment after the meeting, one of the delegates declined to provide details.
“No, we are not allowed to speak to journalists on this trip,” the official said.
Last year, President Lazarus Chakwera travelled to the UAE to discuss the G2G fuel arrangement, promising to report back to Malawians in February about the progress.
In his statement, President Chakwera mentioned successful discussions with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan regarding the establishment of a sustainable fuel supply through a G2G agreement.
He further indicated that legislation for the arrangement had already been passed by Parliament and that the UAE would send a technical team to finalise the details in February.
However, the expected update was not provided in Chakwera’s State of the Nation Address last week Friday, as the UAE team had not yet arrived to finalise the arrangements.
Gwengwe said the meetings in Malawi are a continuation of the discussions initiated by Chakwera during his visit to the UAE last year.
He added that the meetings would continue until Friday, with the government hopeful of seeing results as soon as possible.
“I can assure you that the G2G is already in motion. We are just trying to evaluate the G2G so that it is tailored specifically for Malawi and the UAE,” Gwengwe said.
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