High Commisiner's remarks at Virtual Business Interaction between FICCI and MITC on January 30, 2026

Good morning , Namste 

Ms. Mousumi Roy , Assistant Secretary General and Head- Africa, FICCI 

Mr. Bisa Namarika, Acting Director General, Malawi Investment and Trade Centre

Ms. Dipshikha Biswas, Additional Director (Economic Affairs & Research), FICCI

Dr. T.R. Kesavan, Director and Group President, TAFE Ltd 

Mr. Yash Pal Sachar, FICCI Africa Council Member 

Captains of Indian industry  

and Representatives of various business groups in Malawi 

At the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Team FICCI and MITC for accepting High Commission’s invitation to  hold Virtual discussion on  the business potential  and opportunities available between India and Malawi.

I  also take this opportunity  to convey our thanks to all of you for  sparing valuable time from your busy schedule to attend this virtual interaction which  shows the importance you attach to do business with ‘‘Warm Heart of Africa’’ -Malawi.

This virtual interaction is being organized at a time when we are witnessing  rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty and economic pressure. On the same time, there is a big positive development- India and the European Union on January 27  announced  the world’s biggest and landmark trade agreement which is called ‘‘Mother of all deals’’. By doing so, India and EU have created a free trade zone/common market of 2 billion people, with both sides set to  gain economically and benefited immensely. 

Here in Malawi also, a new Government  under the leadership of H.E Prof  Arthur Peter Mutharika has taken  many measures to bring the country’s economy back on the track and try to create conducive business environment for trade and investment.

The objective of today’s event is to bring the industry members from India through apex chamber FICCI,  business community of Malawi , Malawi’s main trade and investment body- Malawi Trade and Investment Centre (MITC) at one platform to discuss the business opportunities available in both countries while having brain storming session on business modalities and finding practical solutions for doing more trade and business as well as bridging  the information gap between all relevant stakeholders  and promote understanding of how Indian and Malawian companies can work together for better future. 

India and Malawi share cordial , and friendly relations. Leaderships of the both countries have great understanding and share the common vision for their  nations. Our Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji has a clear vision to make  India as developed Nation -Viksit Bharat by 2047 when India would be celebrating its centenary for its Independence. Similarly Malawian Leadership also has the vision for Malawi  to make the country inclusively wealthy and self-reliant industrialized upper-middle-income country by the year 2063 when Malawi would be celebrating its centenary of independence. 

I would like to mention that Mission organised India Business seminar in the City of Blantyre in October last year and a detailed discussion was held by the all stakeholders to identify sectors which hold  business potentials and prospectus between Malawi and India.   Some areas such as agriculture & food processing, minerals and Mining, engineering goods and farm machinery, renewable energy, pharma and healthcare sectors, emerged as promising sectors during the discussion.  We strongly believe that  there are  complimentaries and synergies exist in these areas and most important factor is that some of these areas were also identified by the  Government of Malawi for its vision document  ATMM strategy. ATMM stands for Agriculture/Food processing, Tourism, Mining and Manufacturing . 

Keeping in mind the above sectors, High Commission invited the experts from the above sectors who are already doing business in these fields and they would be happy to share their experiences and suggest practical solutions and business modalities on how to enter in the Malawian market. 

On this note, I conclude my remarks by assuring all of you that the High Commission of India  and myself always stand ready to play a facilitator role in your  endevour and extend all possible help to make your journey smooth in Malawi or in India.   I am confident that the outcome of this event will contribute in developing some sort of understanding about India-Malawi business potentials which can be leveraged by business community present here today.

Once again, thanks a lot for showing  your interest to do business with Malawi and India and strengthen our trade and economic partnership further. 

Zikomo Kwambiri, Jai Hind, Jai Bharat !