Professor Mutharika addressed the House that three years ago Malawi had a double tragedy of national floods and drought in a year whereby crops failed and there was hunger throughout the country but his government managed to deal with the situation.

“Two years ago, we had another drought and crops failed again. There was national hunger. Throughout this time, Malawi had no budgetary support from any donor. We achieved economic recovery without donor budget support through crises of national disasters. This story should give you, the Scottish people, and the world, every confidence that Malawi is a country you can trust,” said Professor Mutharika.

Besides, during the address to Parliament the Malawi Leader said the signing of Malawi Scotland Global Goals Partnership Agreement shows that now the two nations are poised to pursue goals and conquer targets with the consensus of the global community.

‘In Malawi, we are determined to make Malawi a producing and exporting nation. That is our vision. We are determined to move Malawi from aid to trade and achieve economic autonomy.

Therefore, we have lined up a number of programs driving to Malawi to prosperity. The first project is Greenbelt Initiative. We are diversifying, commercializing and expanding our agriculture productivity. We are set to use irrigation, step up value addition, bring about food security and make agriculture the drive for industrialization,” President Mutharika informed the House.

The Malawi Leader added that the second project is Foreign Direct Investment. He said his government is inviting investors from all corners of the world, including Scotland. Professor Mutharika said it is the wish of his administration to have a smaller Government, and a bigger private sector that drives the economy and provides jobs for Malawians.

“Our third flagship program is Skills Development. We are creating a skilled-labour society because no society develops without a skilled-labour force. Therefore, we are building community technical colleges across the country as a way of investing in the youth, creating jobs, and creating a skilled labour force for our direct investors,” said Pres. Mutharika.

Besides, Professor Mutharika said his administration is geared with infrastructure development. On this he said his government is building new roads, expanding airports, reviving and expanding rail network, taking electricity to the rural communities and taking affordable and fast internet to every community.

“We are setting foundations, and indeed, setting the stage for phenomenal economic growth in Malawi. We invite Scotland to continue to be part of Malawi’s transformation. Scotland has been a true and trusted friend to the people of Malawi. We look forward to a deeper friendship.

Let the world learn from our friendship. Time has come for the West to define Africa as a mutual partner. Time has come for the West to accept that with our resources, Africa contributes to Western economies more than the West contributes to Africa,” explained Mutharika.