Mozambique: Minister worked in Malawi to resume commercial train service between both countries – Carta

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Mozambique: Minister worked in Malawi to resume commercial train service between both countries – Carta

2:21 CAT | 03 Nov 2023

Photo: Carta

A delegation led by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, was in Malawi this Thursday (02-11) arranging the resumption of commercial rail services between the two countries via the Mutarara – Vila Nova da Fronteira branch on the Sena line.

Magala was also working with his Malawian counterpart, Jacob Hara, on the introduction of ‘borderless trains’ for the transport of goods between Mozambique and Malawi, as the country has already done with South Africa and Eswatini, with significant gains in efficiency already apparent.

Also on the agenda of the bilateral meeting were the establishment of single borders between Mozambique and Malawi, the development of dry ports along the Beira and Nacala Corridors, the review and full implementation of the Beira Development Corridor, harmonisation of transport procedures and operations between the two countries, namely, licensing, inspection and road taxes, as well as the implementation of the Air Agreement between Mozambique and Malawi, search and rescue and other logistical and transport development initiatives in both countries.

During the bilateral meeting, Magala expressed confidence that the work carried out by both governments would constitute the ‘new normal’ in cooperation and collaboration, from which Mozambique expects concrete results for the development of both economies and the improvement of community life.

At the opening of the one-day meeting, the Minister of Transport and Communications explained that the event took place within the scope of the agreements signed on October 7th, the day on which the Port of Nacala was inaugurated, after being expanded and modernised.

During this event, the Presidents of the Republic of Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia signed the Nacala Corridor Agreement, an occasion to reaffirm, at the highest level, the will of the three states to revitalise the Nacala Corridor.

At the same ceremony, the Ministers of Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique responsible for transport, signed the Tripartite Agreement on Rail and Road Transport in the Nacala Development Corridor. The agreement signed in Nacala is part of the implementation of the Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project, budgeted at US$280 million and financed by the World Bank, with the aim of strengthening the corridor’s operations and promoting regional development.

“As part of this project, a Secretariat of the Regional Management Committee of the Nacala Development Corridor will be created, in the province of Tete, in Mozambique, which will integrate experts from the three countries, with the mission of coordinating the implementation of initiatives that promote efficiency of commercial processes and connectivity of the Nacala and Beira Corridors [ Nacala and Sena Transport Corridors],” Magala explained.

From this perspective, the government official pointed out that the vision is to implement reforms that allow the transformation of our transport corridors in both countries, into economic corridors, into spaces of economic development, promoting industrialization, agriculture, commerce, tourism and other activities that can generate quality jobs and employment for citizens and nations.

“As the Government of Mozambique, we confirm our total availability to jointly implement several initiatives that allow the removal of all barriers that affect the mobility of people and goods between countries in the region, and the development of integrated economic spaces that will multiply social mobility and economic opportunities for all,” Magala concluded.

The minister was accompanied on his trip by members of staff, including the Permanent Secretary, Ambrósio Sitoe, and those responsible for supervised institutions, notably the Civil Aviation Institute, represented by Commander João Martins de Abreu, the director of air transport, Neúsia Machava, among others.

Source: Carta de Moçambique