Malawi

The cooperation between the Government of Malawi and the European Commission over the period 2008-2013 will manifest itself through the alignment of support to the overriding policy objectives of the MGDS1, which was approved by the Government on 3 November 2006. The main policy objective is to create wealth through economic growth and infrastructure development as a means of achieving poverty reduction. The five MGDS themes of sustainable economic growth, social protection, social development, infrastructure development and improved governance represent the broad national priorities. Within this context, the Government has singled out six specific priorities on which efforts will be concentrated in the next five years. These are agriculture and food security, irrigation and water development, transport infrastructure development, energy generation and supply, integrated rural development, and prevention and management of nutrition disorders, HIV and AIDS. These priorities are fully supported by non-state actors2, which also underscore the importance of good governance.

The EC/GoM co-operation will be in close complementarity with support to be provided by the EU Member States and other main donors active in Malawi. Specific attention will be paid to seeking out synergies attainable with EU MS and the World Bank, under the coordination of the Government of Malawi. Development of sector programmes will be systematically promoted. In terms of financing modalities, in line with the Paris Declaration, budgetary aid will be the preferred modality whenever possible, followed by joint financing with other development partners.

The Malawi-EC Strategy under the 10th EDF will be developed within both good governance and macro-economic stability frameworks. One of the main elements of EC/GoM development cooperation under the 10th EDF will be the provision of General Budget Support, which will foster the continuation of efforts made since mid-2004 to consolidate and improve the country’s macro-economic situation, strengthen public finance management systems and carry out policy reforms in the areas of education and health. Furthermore, the EC/GoM cooperation will concentrate on two focal sectors: i) Agriculture and Food Security in the context of national development and regional integration ii) Regional Interconnection with focus on Road Infrastructure.

In relation to the non-focal sectors of cooperation, support will be provided to the following areas: a) Good Governance; b) Support to Economic Partnership Agreement – Investments and Trade; c) Support to fight HIV-AIDS and Promote Gender; and d) Institutional Capacity-Building.

Other sectors like energy, water and sanitation can be financed via the EU-Africa Infrastructure Partnership and the investments from the European Investment Bank.