Bilateral Relations

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High Commission of India 
Malawi 

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Bilateral brief on Malawi 

India and Malawi shares cordial and friendly bilateral relations. India established diplomatic relations with Malawi immediately after Malawi’s Independence in 1964. Subsequently, a resident Mission in Malawi was established, however, due to some administrative reasons, the High Commission in Malawi was closed in 1994, though India continued to have diplomatic relations with Malawi. Malawi was concurrently accredited to our Mission in Zambia until February 2012. The resident mission was re-opened in March, 2012. Malawi opened its Mission in Delhi in February 2007.  

General Elections 2025: 

Tripartite General elections were held in Malawi on 16 September 2025 to elect the President, the 229 members of the National Assembly and 509 local government councillors. In Presidential election, Malawi's former President Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika, presidential candidate of the main opposition party Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured a victory. Outgoing President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera conceded defeat to his rival candidate Prof. Mutharika. In Parliamentary election, main opposition party-DPP emerged as the largest party in the Parliament securing 81 seats in the National Assembly followed by 69 independents and 52 for the Malawi Congress Party(MCP). In local body elections, DPP was able to secure mayoral posts in all 4 largest cities- Zomba, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Blantyre.  

BILATERAL RELATIONS 

  1. High Level Engagements : Some of the important bilateral visits took place are as follows: 

(i) Shri M. Hamid Ansari, Hon’ble Vice President of India visited Malawi from 7-9 January 2010. (ii) Late Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi visited India from 2-7 November 2010. (iii) Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, Vice President of Malawi visited India from 25-27 March 2018 to attend CII -EXIM Bank Conclave. 

(iv) Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice President of India visited Malawi from 4-5 November 2018. (v) Smt. Draupadi Murmu, Hon’ble Rashtrapati ji State visit to Malawi on 17 – 19 October 2024. 

Ministerial level visits :- 

  1. From India :  

Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri V. Murleedharan visited from 8-10 June 2022. 

  1. From Malawi : 

(i) Mr. Francis Kasaila, Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation visited India in  March 2017. 

(ii) Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano, Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation visited New  Delhi, India from 25-27 March 2018 as a part of delegation led by Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, Vice President to participate in the CII-EXIM Bank Conclave. 

(iii) Mrs. Monica Chang’anamuno, M.P., Minister of Defence led a delegation to visit Bangalore to  participate in the AERO India 2025 from 10-14 February 2025. 

(iv) Mr. Ibrahim Matola, Minister of Energy visited Kilokari Battery Energy Storae System (BESS)  project site in Delhi in July 2025. 

(v) Mr. Zikhalie Ng’oma, Minister of Mining led a delegation to attend 20th CII India – Africa Business Conclave held in New Delhi from 27-29 August 2025. 

(vi) Ms. Dalitso Baloyi, Minister of Health and Sanitation visit New Delhi to participate in the Second  WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine from 17 – 19 December 2025  

 (vii) Mr. Sameer Suleman, Speaker of Parliament of Malawi visited New Delhi to participate in the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding officers of the Commonwealth from January 14-18, 2026.  (viii) Dr Jean Mathanga, Minister of Energy and Mining visited New Delhi to participate in Bharat  Electricity Summit (BES) from March 19-22, 2026 

  1. Capacity Building 

(i) During 2026-27, India offered 30 ICCR’s India-Africa Maitri scholarship Scheme to Malawian students to pursue higher studies in India and provided 150 ITEC (Civilian) slots and 38 ITEC (Defence) slots for armed forces personnel. So far, about 1700 Malawian nationals from both government and private sectors were trained in India in various fields since 2008. In addition, 77 Malawi Defence officials were already trained/undergone ITEC Programme and UN Peacekeeping Training programme since 2018. Similarly, more than 100 students from Malawi had availed

their higher education in various universities in India under Africa Scholarship Scheme and India-Africa Forum Summit Training programme. Former President of Malawi Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika and current Foreign Minister Dr George Chaponda are the notable alumni of ICCR’s scholarship. 

  1. Development Partnership: 

(a) Lines of Credit: India has strong development partnership with Malawi and has extended LoCs to the tune of US$ 395.68 Mn. Out of which, developmental projects of US$ 180Mn were executed. Some of the important projects are Salima Sugar factory, strategic fuel reserves in 3 cities, dal processing plants, cotton ginneries in Ngara, Ngabu and Balaka, etc.  

(b) Grants:  

(i) During the visit of Vice President of India to Malawi in January 2010, a grant of US$5 million was offered to Malawi - Science & Laboratory equipment worth US$ 1.5 million and medical equipment worth US$ 1.5 million consisting of mammography and ultra-sound machines were donated to Malawi government. US$1 million worth of agricultural implements supplied by India were handed over in August 2015 to Government of Malawi. In July 2015, a grant of US$1 million worth of essential medicines and drugs were handed over to Government of Malawi towards disaster relief operations in 2015. The GoI has also extended another grant of US$ 1 million in response to an international Appeal declaring Malawi on “State of Disaster” by President of Malawi in 2016. 

(ii) In 2018, India established Business Incubation Centre in Mponela worth US$ 1 million in Malawi to provide training in processing of tomato, mangoes and cassava. The Center also has facilities to train students in semi precious stone cutting and polishing techniques; compost processing unit and briquette unit. 

(iii) During the visit of Hon’ble Vice President of India to Malawi in November 2018, the following grants were announced: (i) Bhabhatron Cancer treatment machine - During the Hon’ble President’s State Visit to Malawi in October 2024, the machine was handed over to the Govt of Malawi and the machine was later installed in National Cancer Centre in Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe (ii) Medicines worth US$2 million were handed over to Government of Malawi in July 2020; (iii) 10 ambulances were handed over to Government of Malawi in February 2020 (iv) 100,000 text books for Malawi schools were handed over to Government of Malawi in February 2020. In 2020, Government of India gifted 1,000 MT of Rice in response to request for Aid due to failure of crop. 

(iv) The Government of India under its “India for Humanity” initiative conducted Artificial Limbs Fitment Camp in Lilongwe at Kamuzu Central Hospital in 2018. The Vice President of India inaugurated the camp in which 551 Malawians were fitted with artificial limbs. The second camp was organized in July – September 2024 in which 599 Malawians were benefited. During the State visit of Hon’ble President, India’s commitment to assist Malawi to establish a Permanent Artificial Limb fitment Centre was announced. 1000 artificial limbs as donation to the Permanent Artificial Limb fitment Centre was handed over to the Zomba Central Hospital in February 2026. 

(v) As part of Covid-19 assistance, India gifted 50,000 doses of India-made Covid vaccine in March 2021. In September 2021, India gifted Covid related essential medicines and PPE material worth US$ 1.4 mn. 

(vi) In June 2022, Shri V. Muraleedharan, MoS announced gifting of 200 laptops to Members of Parliament of Malawi which were gifted to Parliament of Malawi in November 2022. Another announcement of gifting of Anti-cancer medicine worth US$ 1.4 million was also handed over to Govt of Malawi in July 2023. 

(vii) In March 2023, Cyclone Freddy displaced the several people in Malawi. The Cyclone damaged more than 2,00,000 hectares of crops and killed or washed away more than 285,000 Livestock. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi conveyed condolences and expressed solidarity to the President of Malawi. Subsequently, the Government of India donated approximate 80 tons of emergency relief items and essential medicines to Malawi on 26 March 2023. 

(viii) In November 2024, 1000 MT rice was donated to Malawi in response to President of Malawi’s appeal in wake of El Nino phenomenon impact. In October 2025, President Peter Mutharika declared a state of disaster in Malawi due to a prolonged dry spells. Govt of Malawi appealed to local and international donor partners for support to assist over 4 million people affected by food insecurity. Govt of India responded positively to the GOM’s appeal and decided to donate 1000 MT Rice to Malawi. The consignment of 1000 MT is expected to reach Malawi in end of April.  

(D) Cotton Technical Assistance Programme (C-TAP): The C-TAP Programme was started by India in 2012 for African countries including Malawi. Under the programme, 200 participants and 25 trainers from Malawi were trained through regional training and exposure visits to India. GoI also set up and handed over the ‘Skill School for Apparel Manufacturing’ with 20 Industrial Sewing Machines and Cutting equipment to Government of Malawi in September 2016 .

  1. Commercial Relations: India-Malawi trade relations are historic and dates back to 18th century coinciding with the arrival of Indian traders mainly from Gujarat to the African sub-continent. Malawi as an LDC, is also a beneficiary under GoI’s Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme introduced in April 2008. The bilateral trade between India and Malawi for 2024-25 stands at approx. US$ 170.64 million. The Indian exports to Malawi stood at US$ 94.56 million while the exports from Malawi to India stood at US$ 76.08 million. Trade balance has always been in India’s favour. India is also one of the largest investors in Malawi with over US$500 million worth investment. Mission organized India-Malawi Business Seminar on 08 October 2025 in Blantyre to explore trade and investment opportunities across key sectors. Discussions focused on collaboration in agriculture and food processing, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, mining, engineering goods and digital public infrastructure. On 30 January 2026, Mission organised Exclusive Virtual Industry Interaction in collaboration with Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). 9-member CII delegation visited Malawi from February 15-17 and held meetings with Rt Hon’ble Vice President of Malawi, Finance Minister, and Principal Secretary (Agriculture). Mission in collaboration with Malawian Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) organized a B2B meeting at Blantyre on 17 February 2026 which was attended by Minister of Trade and Industry Mr Simon Itaye and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Mr Edgar Tembo. 
  2. Cooperation in Mining: India and Malawi signed an MoU on “Cooperation in the field of Mineral Resources Development” in 2010. Under the MoU, Joint Working Group (JWG) were established and so far 2 meetings of the JWG were held. Revised MOU on Cooperation in the field of Mines and Mineral resources is under consideration of GOM. Dr Jean Mathanga, Minister of Energy and Mining, Government of Malawi visited New Delhi to participate in Bharat Electricity Summit (BES) from March 19-22, 2026 and met Secretary (Mines) Government of India to discuss the possible collaboration in mining sector.  
  3. Cooperation in Power sector: In May 2020, an MoU was signed between EGENCO, the Malawi Power generation company and NTPC, the public sector Indian company, for cooperation in power generation. During the visit of Dr Jean Mathanga, Minister of Energy and Mining to attend BES 2026 in New Delhi, Honourable Minister met Hon’ble Minister of Power Mr Manohar Lal , Govt of India to discuss the possible collaboration in power sector. 
  4. Multilateral: The two countries hold identical views on many regional, international and multilateral issues. 

(i) UNSC Security Council Reform: Malawi has been supportive of expansion of the Security Council in the UN. Malawi agrees that the current composition and function of the Security Council does not reflect the realities of the international communities in the 21st century. Malawi has conveyed her support to the G4 - India, Brazil, Germany and Japan initiative, but maintains that it will abide by the decision taken by AU, in so far as reforms in the UN are concerned.  

(ii) International Solar Alliance (ISA): Malawi was one of early countries which signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement in November, 2017. Mr Aggrey Masi, Minister for Natural Resources, Energy and Mining represented Malawi at ISA Founding Conference held on 11 March, 2018 in New Delhi. In October 2021, ISA has granted US$ 50,000 to solarise the Malawian Parliament building. 

(iii) Triangular Cooperation: India had implemented two trilateral projects so far in Malawi with US and Germany on food security and women empowerment respectively. Both these projects have been successful. Under the trilateral project with US, around 120 Malawians have been trained at MANAGE, Hyderabad. Similarly, under trilateral cooperation with Germany, 55 Malawian women and trainers were trained. In December 2022, under this trilateral cooperation, first ever Agribusiness incubator model in Malawi for women empowerment was also set up. 

(iv) International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)- Government of Malawi has expressed its interest to sign the framework agreement of IBCA in March 2026.  

  1. Cultural Relations and Mission’s activities: The High Commission of India in coordination with the Indian diaspora in Malawi celebrate most of the prominent Indian festivals where members of the diplomatic corps and local Malawians are invited. Mission also organizes events for specific states to showcase culture, language, traditions, music, tourism, cuisine, etc. specific to those states. Through Mission’s social media handles, Indian cultural events and activities are widely publicized. In order to popularize the Indian culture, Mission periodically organises the visit of ICCR cultural troupes to Malawi and the Malawian cultural troupes to Surajkund Mela. In past, ICCR cultural troupes visited Malawi in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2025. Recently, a 10 member Rajasthani folk dance troupe visited Malawi from October 27-30, 2025 to promote cultural ties between the two countries. On the similar lines, Malawian cultural dance troupe regularly visit Faridabad, Haryana to participate in the Surajkund Mela. Recently, a 17 member Malawian cultural dance troupe participated in the Surajkund Mela from January 31- February 16.

Mission organized Diwali on 28th October 2025 where Dr. George Chaponda, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation graced the occasion as Guest of Honour. The event was attended by dignitaries & senior functionaries from the Government of Malawi apart from Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Representatives / High ranking officials from UN & International organizations etc. Mission also celebrated the States Day of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab and Kerala on November 1, 2025. Stalls were setup to display culture, arts, information material on tourism etc. to promote “Incredible India” and cultural display by the diaspora associations from respective states were also held. Mission in partnership with University of Malawi (UNIMA) organized “India Dialogue” in Zomba. The event focused on India’s growing strategic role in the Global South including Africa, its economic transformation path to become developed nation by 2047 through unleashing its full potential. Mission also organised the Holi celebration in India House on March 14, 2026, approx 200 people from all walks of life including diplomatic corps, Indian diaspora members , local dignitaries, social media influencers, etc. participated. The On February 26, 2026, Mission also organised the diaspora even under the theme of ‘Role of Indian Diaspora in Amrit Kaal’. The event was attended by approx 120 people from the Indian community and shared their thoughts and ideas on diaspora’s role in India’s growth and developmental journey to become the developed nation by 2047. 

  1. ICCR MoU for India chair: High Commissioner of India and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Malawi signed an MOU in September 2025 to establish India Chair, supported by Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), in the University of Malawi in Zomba. Prof. Tej Pratap Singh, ICCR Chair is expected to join the University soon. 
  2. Indian Community : 

Though diplomatic relations was established in 1964, the people-to-people ties spans over 140 years. Currently Malawi hosts about 17,500 strong Indian diaspora including 8,500 PIOs, majority of PIOs are from Gujarat. The number of Indian nationals (NRIs) at present is about 9,000, majority of them are from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, primarily engaged in trading, agriculture and agro-business, pharmaceutical, hospitality, besides a few professionals. They are well integrated and contributing in Malawi’s economic growth. In 2025, Mr Krishna Sawjani, an eminent Indian origin lawyer, was awarded the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award (PBSA).  

There are about 15 Indian community associations in Malawi. High Commission keeps regular interaction with these Indian associations. All important information for the diaspora is disseminated through these associations and the members of the associations are invited on all official events organized by the High Commission, including the events related to development partnership initiatives of India in Malawi. 

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