Norge signerer ny bistandsavtale med Malawi

Honourable Minister of Finance, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to sign the Memorandum of Understanding concerning development co-operation between the Republic of Malawi and the Kingdom of Norway.

During the last ten years our two countries have developed a close and fruitful cooperation based on the mutual goals of alleviating poverty and promoting economic growth in Malawi. Development cooperation between Malawi and Norway was formalised in June 1997. Since then Norwegian bilateral assistance to Malawi has amounted to approximately 50 billion kwacha or 360 million US dollars in nominal terms.

Honourable Minister, ladies and gentlemen,

Figures from your Ministry show that Norway, also handling funds on behalf of Sweden, represented the second largest development partner to Malawi in 2006/07. While this was an exceptional year, Norway and Sweden have in recent years been among Malawi’s four largest development partners. Such support to Malawi’s development efforts implies responsibilities on both sides.

On our side we should support your plans and strategies to reduce poverty and sustain growth. Secondly, we should strive to use and support your administrative systems including procurement, budgeting, accounting and auditing. Thirdly, we should strive to be predictable and clearly lay out the terms and conditions for our support. On your side is the responsibility for securing that funds are used efficiently and in a transparent manner for the intended goals and purposes. Last but not the least, we should ensure the public, our Auditor General and the Parliament that the funds are properly accounted for.

The MoU that we signed today lays a good foundation for a cooperation based on sound principles of development co-operation. The support is closely aligned with the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy and is based on the principles of the Malawi Development Assistance Strategy.

It is in the continuous, and sometimes tedious, dialogue, at all levels, that the cooperation between our two countries develops. It is our belief that we have developed a strong, frank and close relation with substantial developmental achievements during the last ten years.

Democratic pluralism, human rights and good governance, including the fight against corruption, are important pre-requisites for achieving the goals of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy. These principles also form the basis for our co-operation. In this context, and referring to the political challenges that have to be solved, I would like to use this opportunity to encourage all parties to continue constructive dialogue in order to move forward from the political impasse we now witness. This should be in the interest of all Malawians.

In this context, a free and fair election in 2009 will also be a key milestone.

Norway’s commitment in terms of the volume of assistance in the MoU is for the first time given as a multi-year commitment. This is subject to approval by the Norwegian Parliament and dependant on satisfactory performance with regard to Malawi’s commitments to reduce poverty and adherence to the agreed upon principles of good governance.

We have agreed on four key areas for long-term bilateral cooperation:

The first area is governance. We have agreed to support Malawi’s efforts to improve governance, policy making and implementation through budget support and capacity building of key institutions.

The second area is health and hiv/aids. It is our intention to continue support to improve service delivery in health and hiv/aids, through the health swap and other modalities agreed between our two countries. Of special priority to my Government is Millennium Development Goals number 4 and 5.

The third key area of long-term cooperation is environment and sustainable management of natural resources. We have an obligation to sustain our environment and combat the negative impact of climate change. The cooperation will have a particular focus on natural resource management and support to agriculture in line with Malawi’s Agricultural Development Program.

The last, but very important area of cooperation is gender. To sustain development, it is of crucial importance to support effort to improve gender equality. Therefore, Norway will continue to support targeted initiatives for improved conditions for women as well as through increased focus on women and gender dimensions in other areas of support.

In addition to these four areas, the Government of Malawi has specifically requested Norwegian support to the energy sector. This can be discussed in our bilateral consultations, as reflected in the MoU.

I would like to commend and encourage the ongoing efforts towards One UN in Malawi. Norway has set aside additional funds to support the One UN reform processes. For the time being Malawi is being considered as one of the possible countries for support this year.

Honourable Minister, ladies and gentlemen,

In connection with the challenge of the global rise in food prices and its impact on Malawi, I am pleased to inform you that my Government has decided to offer additional funds, over and above previous commitments, of up to 15 mill Norwegian kroner (appr. USD 3 mill). These funds are meant to support Malawi’s fertilizer and seed subsidy programme, which we have seen has made a positive impact on food production.

Let me end these few words, Honourable Minister, with a personal gratitude for a warm welcome.

During the next days I look forward to meet the warm Malawian people and experience your beautiful country.

Thank you very much.