By Chalo Mvula

President Dr Lazarus Chakwera who is currently in Davos , Switzerland  for the World Economic Forum has wasted no time but get down to business.The President has already  started preparatory meetings  with members of his delegation in readiness for the busy itinerary of engagements  aimed at advancing the Malawi Socioeconomic agenda.

On Sunday Morning President Chakwera  had a briefing  from Pacharo Kayira who is the Charge dAffaires at the Malawi Embassy in Switzerland on the 17 Engagements  the President will have   during his time at the summit. The President together with the First Lady will later on Sunday afternoon attend the welcome reception at the Davos Conference Centre.

President Chakwera left Malawi on Saturday May 20^th . He has been invited to the meeting in light of the economic challenges Malawi is currently facing, exacerbated by global factors requiring multilateral solutions, such as Covid-19 pandemic, climate change-induced disasters, and the war in Europe, which are causing economic turmoil all over the world, especially in low-income and vulnerable economies like the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).  On leaving Malawi Chakwera said  “I am off to Davos, Switzerland for the 2022 World Economic Forum. Top of agenda is economic recovery in the face of Covid-19 effects and Ukraine-Russia war. We will build back with the right levels of solidarity”

As a sitting Chairperson of both LDCs and SADC, President Chakwera will join other world leaders in charting a path towards equitable and fair global economic recovery.

Other key meeting lined up on the Presidents itinerary include a shareholder dialogue on building economies in Fragile  Markets , session in  investing  in health equity . President Chakwera is also expected to hold meetings with President Kagame of Rwanda, meet with Winnie Byanyima, executive director  of UNAIDS, hold a meeting with Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud among other things

President Chakwera is also scheduled to hold a press conference  on Wednesday  together with President Kagame, Bill Gates, Albert Bourla and Angela Hwang

After the Davos summit the President  will pass through Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where he will attend the 15th Extraordinary Conference, and the 16th Extraordinary Summit Meeting of the African Union on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Charges of Government from 26-28 May 2022.