FAO Director-General’s bilateral meeting with H.E. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi

New York – Director-General QU Dongyu met today with H.E. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The President expressed his gratitude for the work FAO is undertaking in Malawi and for the strong relationship between Malawi and FAO.  In particular, he highlighted the Hand-in-Hand Initiative and the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative as having made a positive impact on Malawi’s priority to enhance food security and resilience.  He also noted that agriculture is crucial to the nation’s economy, and briefly touched upon the government development strategy, ‘Malawi 2063’, launched in 2021 with the goal of becoming a self-reliant upper middle-income country by 2063.

The President went on to stress that support is still needed in many areas, including irrigation infrastructure, animal and plant pests and diseases, marketing systems, improved seed varieties and breeding systems, institutional capacities, strengthening agriculture information systems, and others.

The Director-General reaffirmed that Malawi could continue to count on FAO’s support and technical assistance, and commended the President for his leadership and personal engagement in food security issues.

The Director-General also invited the President and/or his ministers to participate in the World Food Forum 2023, including the dedicated Science and Innovation Forum, and the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum, which will all take place at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, during the week of 16-20 October 2023.