Kenya, Malawi sign 8 new bilateral agreements

Kenya and Malawi have inked eight new bilateral agreements designed to strengthen bilateral relations including trade and investments between the two nations.

The agreements were signed Thursday afternoon at State House, Nairobi, at the end of bilateral talks between Kenyan and Malawian delegations led by President Lazarus Chakwera and his Southern Africa counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, who is in the country for a three-day state visit.

The eight agreements cover broad areas of cooperation between Kenya and Malawi in politics, diplomacy, defence, fisheries and aquaculture as well as cooperative development.

President Kenyatta said the pacts would enable Malawi and Kenya to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA, the new continent-wide free trade that took effect from January this year.

Kenya, a member of the Eastern African Community's EAC customs union mainly exports tobacco products, fertiliser, soaps, chemicals, packaging materials and printed matter to Malawi, a member of the Southern African Development CommunityAfrican Development Community SADC Through these multilateral platforms Kenya, Malawi and other African countries have an excellent opportunity to explore tangible approaches to build strong and resilient African economies, post Covid - 19, President Kenyatta said.

The pacts come at a time when Malawian manufacturers have been searching for cheaper channels of getting goods into Kenya in a campaign that has sought to significantly improve the volume of exports to the southern African countries.

Trade between the two nations was valued at Sh 7 billion last year with Kenya holding the bigger share of Sh 4.1 billion. Imports from Malawi stood at Sh 2.98 billion during the same period.

Malawian industrialists said earlier they are seeking new trade links that will allow them to establish joint ventures with Kenyans, beating official and unofficial barriers to trade.