Maputo, 9 Apr (AIM) – The Zòbué, Muanza, Calomué and Ndiza border posts between Mozambique and Malawi will function under a one-stop border system, from the end of April, in order to facilitate trade between the two countries.
The decision was taken by the two governments during a bilateral meeting, held on Tuesday, in the central city of Tete, under the guidance of the Mozambican High Commissioner to Malawi, Alexandre Manjate, and the Malawian Ambassador to Mozambique, Wezi Moyo.
According to Manjate, the measure is aimed at facilitating trade by facilitating investments and communication, taking into account the implementation of the reforms related to international transactions and measures to support the development of value chains.
Manjate explained that the ongoing technical meeting will also harmonize the procedures to be implemented at the two borders.
“In the first phase, part of the immigration services will operate at Malawian facilities, due to the fact that Malawi has completed its facilities on three of the four border posts, namely Muanza, which borders Zòbué, and Ndiza, which borders Calomué in the central province of Tete”, he said.
“The work that the two teams have done is to visit the sites, identify the pros and cons, and draw up reports that will be debated. Based on this, we will decide how the project will work, bearing in mind that the reports drawn up so far reflect the desire of both parties to soon implement this project of extreme importance for the two countries as well as for the region”, he added.
For his part, Moyo said that the decision taken between the parties is a gain to be celebrated. He stressed that the project is for mutual benefit.
“The two delegations reached a consensus that this programme should be implemented immediately, so we are harmonizing the procedures and hope that by the end of April the project will get underway”, Moyo said.
He added “this is a trade and connectivity project in southern Africa funded by the World Bank, one of the components of which is to reduce trade costs by facilitating trade, including infrastructure and improving market access.”
(AIM)
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